From Screen Time to Family Time

January 19, 2026

Your weekday guide to using AI for good, not just for another screen.

Hey friends,

This weekend was one of those classic parent-entrepreneur juggling acts. My 8-year-old had a friend over, and they decided to put on a full-blown theatrical production in the living room. Meanwhile, my 3-year-old appointed herself the official (and very loud) sound effects manager. In the middle of the beautiful chaos, I was trying to finish up a client proposal. It’s in these moments I’m reminded how blurred the lines are between work and family life.

It got me thinking about the tools we use. They need to be smart, fast, and, let's be honest, personal. They need to understand our unique brand of chaos. And this week, it feels like the AI world was listening.

Here’s what actually matters from the last few days:

1. Google Gemini Wants to Be Your Personal Assistant

Google just rolled out “Personal Intelligence” for its Gemini AI. It’s a new beta feature that connects to your Gmail, Photos, and YouTube to give you truly personalized answers. The example they gave was a guy at a tire shop who couldn’t remember his tire size. Gemini not only found it but also suggested tire options based on family road trip photos it saw in his Google Photos. It even pulled his license plate number from a picture.

What This Means for You: This is the next step for AI. It’s moving beyond just knowing facts to actually knowing you. Imagine an assistant that can help you plan a family vacation by looking at past trips, or find a specific document without you having to remember the exact file name. It’s about to get a lot more useful.

Try This Week: If you’re a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscriber in the US, you can turn this on in your Gemini settings. Try asking it to plan a weekend activity based on your family’s recent emails and photos. See what it comes up with!

Source: Google Blog

2. ChatGPT Just Got Way More Affordable

OpenAI has officially launched its “ChatGPT Go” plan worldwide for just $8 a month. This isn’t a stripped-down version; it gives you 10 times the capacity of the free tier, access to their newer GPT-5.2 Instant model, and a longer memory. It’s their fastest-growing plan for a reason.

What This Means for You: If you’ve been hitting the usage limits on the free version of ChatGPT, this is a game-changer. For the price of two fancy coffees, you can unlock a ton more power for everything from drafting client emails to creating bedtime stories with your kids. It makes powerful AI accessible for any family budget.

Try This Week: If you’ve been holding off on a paid AI plan, this is the one to try. Upgrade to the “Go” plan and see how much more you can get done. Try using it to help your kids with a school project that requires a lot of back-and-forth questions.

Source: OpenAI

3. Yes, Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT

To help pay for these cheaper plans, OpenAI also announced they’ll start testing ads in the free and “Go” tiers of ChatGPT. They’re promising to do it right: ads will be clearly labeled, separate from the answers, and your conversations will never be sold to advertisers. You’ll also have control to turn off personalization.

What This Means for You: It’s the business model of the internet coming to AI. The good news is that OpenAI seems to be taking a very privacy-focused approach. This move ensures that a powerful version of ChatGPT will likely remain free or very cheap for a long time, which is great for everyone.

Try This Week: Head into your ChatGPT settings and take a look at the privacy and data controls. It’s always a good idea to know what your options are before a new feature rolls out.

Source: OpenAI

4. You Can Now Build an App by… Talking to an AI?

AI coding startup Replit just launched a wild new feature that lets you create a mobile app for iPhones just by describing what you want it to do. You can literally say “build an app to track my daily habits” and it will generate a working app that you can submit to the App Store. It even connects to Stripe so you can charge for it.

What This Means for You: This is huge for entrepreneurs. Have an idea for a simple app for your business or your family, but don’t have the time or money to hire a developer? Now you can just… build it. The barrier to creating custom digital tools just dropped to almost zero.

Try This Week: Even if you don’t publish it, this is fun to play with. Go to Replit and try building a simple app. Maybe a family chore chart, a meal planner, or a tracker for your kid’s reading minutes. See what you can create in 15 minutes.

Source: CNBC

This Weekend's Family Project: AI-Powered Trivia Night

Forget generic Trivial Pursuit questions that leave your kids bored. This weekend, turn your family's inside jokes and shared memories into a hilarious and heartwarming game night, powered by AI. It’s incredibly simple to set up and guarantees an evening of laughter and connection.