Make sense of a confusing letter or form

The short answer

Insurance letters, bills, tax forms, benefit notices: they’re often written in confusing language. An AI chatbot can explain them in plain English and tell you what, if anything, you need to do. Just cover your personal details first, and confirm anything important with whoever sent it.

1Cover personal numbers and details

2Take a photo or copy the text

3Ask for a plain-English explanation

4Confirm important things with the sender

Step 1: Cover your personal details

Before you photograph the letter, cover anything private with a sticky note or a piece of paper:

• Account, policy or card numbers
• Social Security, Aadhaar or other ID numbers
• Your signature, and ideally your full name and address

Why? Chatbot companies may use what you upload to improve their AI unless you switch that off. OpenAI, for example, says images sent to standard ChatGPT may be used this way unless you opt out. ^[1] The AI doesn’t need your numbers to explain the letter.

Step 2: Share the letter with the chatbot

You can either type or paste the confusing part, or send a photo:

• ChatGPT (photo uploads work on the free plan): tap +, then Add photos & files. On a computer, you can also drag the photo into the message box. ^[1]
• Gemini (you need to be signed in): tap Add files, then choose Camera or Photos. ^[2]

Take the photo flat, in good light, with the page the right way up. The AI reads it more accurately that way.

Step 3: Ask for a plain-English explanation

Try this:

Explain this letter in plain English. What is it about? Do I need to do anything, and by when?

Then ask follow-ups, just like you would with a helpful friend:

• “What does the word ‘[word]’ mean here?”
• “Is there a deadline I need to meet?”
• “Help me write a short, polite reply asking for more time.”

Step 4: Confirm anything important

AI can misread things. OpenAI notes its image reading may give incorrect descriptions, and can struggle with sideways photos, charts and text that isn’t in English. ^[1] So for anything about money, health, benefits or legal matters:

• Call the sender to confirm, using a phone number from their official website or your card or statement, not only the one printed in the letter if anything seems off.
• Watch for scam signs. The FTC says government agencies will never call, email or text to ask for money or personal information, and scammers insist on payment by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or payment app. A letter demanding that is a scam. ^[3]