(WXYZ) — In this week's edition of 7 Smart Shopper, I want to shine a light on two people who are using technology to help them save time and money. And one of them is using AI to cook at a very young age.
Watch Kiara's report below
I could learn a lot from Richard Qu: how to cook, how to whip up a mean social media reel, and how to better blend AI technology into my everyday life.
"Make AI your friend," he said.
After one short conversation with Qu, I could tell he is wise beyond his years. But one trait familiar to adolescence still rang true: being a picky eater.
“And my mom was like, 'If you don’t like my cooking, just go cook for yourself, ' so I was like, that’s a good idea," Qu said.
And from then on, his passion and plate grew.
“That was when my picky eating era ended," he said.
The problem-solving from Qu continued when he ran out of ideas in the kitchen, so AI entered the chat.
“When I have minimal ingredients in the pantry, I’m like 'What do I cook with these?' and I type it into ChatGPT, and they’re like, you can make this, this, and this, and I’m like, thank you!”
That trick also saves money. Instead of running to the store or getting takeout when the fridge or pantry is sparse, just type what you have, like an orange, a potato and an onion, and see the recipes roll in.
Another way to save instead of splurge is meal planning: AI apps like ChatGPT and Gemini can help with that too.
“You can put in what kind of food you want to eat, and then they will give you a meal plan, what to buy, which place to buy it from, and sometimes they will give you two or three options, and you can find the cheapest option," said Sunny Raj, an assistant professor in Computer Science and Engineering at Oakland University.
AI can help cut down on the time it would take to make a grocery list, and also curb impulse buys. Raj tells me he uses AI to track his spending when he quickly realized something in his budget.
“I was spending too much money on pizza," Raj said.
So now he tracks his spending using Monarch or Rocket Money.
“When you don’t realize how much you are spending, you want to eat Uber and order food, and it adds up quickly," Raj said.
So whether comparing prices and tracking spending, or finding recipes and making shopping lists. Qu hopes more people get familiar with AI and cooking.
”I'm doing these TikToks to inspire other kids to start cooking, and if they're picky eaters, to cook for themselves," Qu said.
