5 secret codes for ChatGPT (that actually work)

Happy Wednesday,

Hope everyone's having a great week. This one's packed. I've got 5 secret codes for ChatGPT that most people don't know about, a way to turn Claude into a full language tutor that puts Duolingo to shame, a breakdown of when to use ChatGPT vs Claude, and some of the funniest AI moments I've seen on the internet lately. A good mix of everything this week.

Let's get into it.

🧠 PROMPT DROP

5 Secret Codes for ChatGPT You Need to Try

Most people just type a question into ChatGPT and hope for the best. But there are secret codes you can add to your prompts that completely change how ChatGPT responds. These are slash commands and keywords that unlock hidden behaviors most people have no idea exist. Here are 5 of my favorites right now.

The 5Why one is probably my favorite because it forces ChatGPT to dig past the surface-level answer and find the actual root cause. Most people stop at the first answer they get... this code makes sure you don't. I put together a full list of 100+ of these secret codes if you want all of them.

Get all 100+ secret codes →

Watch on Instagram →

🎓 THIS IS WILD

Claude Just Killed Duolingo

If you've been paying for Duolingo or an expensive language tutor, you might not need to anymore. There's a way to set up Claude as a full language tutor that can help you become fluent in any language. And unlike Duolingo, this thing can actually have real conversations with you, correct your grammar in context, and adapt to your level in real time. Here's how to set it up in 30 seconds.

Step 1: Open Claude and go to Projects. Click "Create New Project" and name it "Language Tutor."

Step 2: Click on Instructions, hit the plus, and paste in the master prompt. This tells Claude exactly how to act as your personal tutor... what to correct, how to adjust to your level, and how to structure your lessons.

Step 3: Tell Claude the language you want to learn and your current level. That's it. You're good to go.

Once it's set up, you can do things Duolingo literally can't do. You can role-play ordering lunch at a restaurant and just type in your answers. You can upload images of your practice writing and Claude will break it all down and tell you exactly where you messed up. You can even set up a scheduled task that sends you a daily challenge every morning so you stay consistent. The fact that this is free and Duolingo charges $170 a year for their premium plan is kind of insane.

Get the full setup guide + prompt →

Watch on Instagram →

💡 HONEST TAKE

ChatGPT or Claude or Both?

I came across this graph above that really puts into perspective how many more people still use ChatGPT compared to Claude. ChatGPT is sitting at around 900 million weekly active users right now. Claude is at about 20 million weekly. It's not even close. And I get this question all the time... "should I use ChatGPT or Claude?" My honest answer is always the same. Use both. They're both incredibly strong tools, but they're strong in different areas.

If you've been reading this newsletter for a while, you know I'm a fan of using both for different tasks. Here's a simple breakdown of what I personally go to each tool for:

The short version is this... ChatGPT is better for creative tasks, image generation, and quick research. Claude is better for writing, coding, and anything where you need the output to actually sound like you wrote it. If you only want to pay for one, I think Claude gives you more value right now because of Projects, Skills, and all the automations you can build with it. But if you can swing both, that's the move.

The gap in users is still massive, but Claude is growing fast. And honestly, the best tool is whichever one you actually learn how to use well. Most people barely scratch the surface of either.

📸 THIS IS WILD

The Craziest ChatGPT Use Case I've Ever Seen

I saw this on X and I can't stop thinking about it. Someone was trying to park in a spot that had like six different signs all stacked on top of each other with completely contradicting rules. You know those spots. "No parking Tuesday 8am-10am except holidays unless you have a permit but also street cleaning Thursday." Just an absolute mess.

This person just took a photo of all the signs and asked ChatGPT "Can I park here Wednesday at 4pm?" And ChatGPT read every single sign, cross-referenced the rules, and gave them a clear yes or no answer. That's it. Problem solved. No more standing on the sidewalk squinting at four signs trying to figure out if you're going to get towed.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me excited about AI. Not the big flashy announcements... just someone solving a real everyday problem in 10 seconds that would've taken 5 minutes of confusion and probably still ended with a parking ticket.

If you want a full list of crazy ChatGPT use cases like this that you can use in your everyday life, I put one together for you.

Get the full list of use cases →

🧠 CLAUDE SKILLS

How to Make Claude Sound Human Every Single Time

One of the biggest complaints I hear about AI writing is that it sounds... like AI. The weird phrasing, the filler words, the way it says "delve" and "leverage" in every other sentence. There's a free Claude skill called the Blader Humanizer that fixes this completely. Once you install it, Claude automatically strips out every AI giveaway from your writing. Here's how to set it up.

Step 1: Go to Google and search "Blader Humanizer." Click the first link and download the zip file.

Step 2: Open Claude, click Customize, then Skills. Hit the plus button and click "Upload a Skill."

Step 3: Drag and drop that zip file. That's it. The skill is now installed and active.

Step 4: Before every chat, just type /human and it'll activate the skill automatically.

This one really works. I promise you're going to see a big difference. No more robotic paragraphs. No more "In today's fast-paced world" openers. Just clean, human-sounding writing every time. If you write emails, blog posts, LinkedIn content, or anything that needs to sound like a real person wrote it... install this right now.

Watch the full setup guide on Instagram →

😂 YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP

This Showed Up in a College Textbook

Someone just posted a photo of their college textbook and right there in the middle of the page is a full ChatGPT response. Like, word for word. "If you want, I can also explain columns, primary keys..." Just sitting there in a published, printed textbook that someone probably paid $300 for.

I honestly thought this was a little funny, but it's also kind of concerning. If publishers are already cutting corners like this with textbooks that students are paying hundreds of dollars for, it really makes you wonder how much of the content out there is being generated without anyone checking it. This isn't just a one-off mistake... this is a sign of where things are going.

But here's the thing... textbooks are going to be a thing of the past pretty soon anyway. All of this information is already inside AI because it's been trained on it and indexed on it. So what's the point of paying hundreds of dollars for a book that's outdated the second it's printed? I guarantee you a lot of the new textbooks coming out right now are already being written with AI. This one just happened to have a screw-up where they forgot to clean up the output.

This person should definitely get a refund though. No question about that.

Go try the secret codes and the language tutor setup. Both of them take less than a minute and they're two of the most useful things I've shared in a while.

See you Sunday.

Maverick

P.S. If you're a business owner looking to actually implement AI into your workflows, my team and I work with a small number of people and businesses to build custom AI systems, automations, and tools. If that sounds like you, apply here.

P.P.S. If you're new here or you ever skip one, I've got a newsletter archive of all my past emails you can catch up on anytime.