A New York-based CEO and mother of three has revealed how she uses artificial intelligence (AI) to manage her family's busy schedules, school emails and meal planning, reducing hours of household responsibilities to just two hours a week.
(Also read: Meta AI chief says Zuckerberg’s instant, long WhatsApp texts taught him 'ruthless prioritisation')
Carrol Chang, CEO of Andela, a company that connects businesses with technical talent, told Business Insider that she developed AI agents using several models to handle everyday family tasks that previously consumed five to eight hours of her week.
'It almost broke me'
Chang recalled struggling to balance professional and family responsibilities after the birth of her second child, despite having a supportive husband and a stable senior-level job.
"That first year of my second child's life was joyous in so many ways, but it was also the hardest of my life. It almost broke me, and I have a wonderful husband."
From managing school schedules and childcare emergencies to arranging family travel, the constant responsibilities had become overwhelming.
How AI manages her children's schedules
{{/usCountry}}From managing school schedules and childcare emergencies to arranging family travel, the constant responsibilities had become overwhelming.
How AI manages her children's schedules
{{/usCountry}}Despite having no engineering background, Chang built AI agents by following instructions generated by AI itself.
"Talk to me like I'm a seventh grader and teach me step-by-step what I should do in order to accomplish this task," she recalled asking the technology.
One agent now manages her children's sports schedules, calculating travel times across New York City and automatically adding calendar appointments.
According to Chang, the agent generated around 60 calendar invitations, including one that read, "Uber to game, 23 minutes."
Another agent monitors school emails, identifies important announcements and updates the family calendar. It also filters irrelevant information, such as events for a different language programme at her children's bilingual school, while flagging direct messages from teachers.
AI also plans family meals
Chang and her husband also use an AI agent for meal planning. Previously, the family relied on a rotation of approximately 15 dishes to accommodate dietary requirements and food allergies.
The agent now recommends new meals based on those restrictions and prepares shopping instructions, reducing the need for repeated planning.
However, Chang emphasised that AI is not infallible and requires regular checks to prevent mistakes.
She estimates that her weekly household administrative workload has fallen from five to eight hours to approximately two hours, including time spent reviewing the agents' work.
(Also read: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns against blindly trusting AI, calls for ‘emergency brake’)
The biggest benefit, she said, has been improved sleep, reduced stress and more enjoyable time with her children.
"With the extra time I have, I sleep more, and I get higher-quality sleep. I am less stressed and more pleasant to be around."