ULKA

Tech worth your time.

Alyssa Mercado wearing dark sunglasses and an ULKA T-shirt.

Alyssa Mercado

Alyssa covers AI assistants, image tools and creative workflows. Her articles examine what a tool can do, where it needs human checking and how its free and paid options differ.

Latest

Bar chart illustration comparing Gemini usage limits for personal accounts: standard without a plan, 2x on AI Plus, 4x on AI Pro and 5x or 20x AI Pro on AI Ultra, with a 5-hour refresh and weekly cap
AI image generators ·

Gemini image generation limit: how many images you get

How Gemini's image limits work on free and paid Google AI plans, and where to see when they reset.

Three cards comparing how ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini start a web search and show numbered citations
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini web search citations compared

How ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini search the web, where citations appear and how to check them.

Illustration of a browser with the current tab shared to a Gemini side panel, beside four Gemini in Chrome settings switched off
Gemini ·

Gemini in Chrome: what it can see and how to turn it off

What Gemini in Chrome reads from your tabs, where it is stored, and the settings that switch it off on a computer.

Three stacked layers show account-wide Instructions for Claude, project instructions and the chat prompt, beside a checklist of what to write.
Claude ·

Claude custom instructions and preferences: what to write

Where to set Instructions for Claude, what to put in them and when project instructions or memory fit better.

A grid of monthly AI credits, partly used, beside a consumer licence card reading personal use only, with client work and products crossed out.
AI image generators ·

Microsoft Designer Image Creator free: credits and licence terms

How Microsoft Designer's free AI credits work, what a subscription adds and why its licence is personal use only.

ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini deletion paths lead to a Delete account bin, with steps to export chats and cancel paid plans first.
ChatGPT ·

How to delete your ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini account and data

Steps to delete ChatGPT and Claude accounts, why Gemini works differently and what happens to your data.

A custom instructions panel with role, tone, format and guardrail entries, and an arrow showing them applied to three new chats.
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT custom instructions: what to write and where to set them

Where to set ChatGPT custom instructions, what to write in them and how they differ from Memory.

A landscape photo with a dashed selection inside a larger dashed expanded canvas, a prompt bar with a Generate button, and a panel of three variations.
Photoshop ·

How to use Photoshop Generative Fill and Generative Expand

Select, prompt and pick a variation: how Photoshop Generative Fill and Expand work, what they cost and common fixes.

Three phones show voice waveforms labelled ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini Live, with where each voice mode runs.
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini voice mode: what each one can do

Where each voice mode runs, what it can see, how much your plan allows and what happens to the audio.

Parent and teen account icons joined by a link marked "Chats stay private", above switches for quiet hours, Voice Mode, image generation and saved memories.
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT parental controls: how to link and set up a teen account

Link a teen ChatGPT account, set quiet hours and limits, and learn what parents can and cannot see.

A monthly credit meter feeds two cards: standard image and vector tools at about one credit, premium video, audio and partner models at many credits.
Adobe Firefly ·

Adobe Firefly generative credits: how they work and what uses them

How many Firefly generative credits each Adobe plan includes, what uses them, when they reset and how to check.

An envelope labelled Gmail beside three settings rows: Gmail, Chat and Meet switched on, and Google Workspace, marked Gemini, and Other Google products switched off.
Gemini ·

How to turn off Gemini in Gmail and Google Workspace

Gemini in Gmail sits behind Google's smart feature settings. Here is which one to switch off and what else it changes.

A chat window with a Share button, a home address and an attached photo, connected by a public link to four people, labelled anyone with the link.
AI chatbots ·

How to share a ChatGPT conversation, Claude chat or Gemini chat safely

Shared AI chat links can be opened by anyone who has them. What each service includes and how to delete old links.

Illustration of an image card with a Licensed for business stamp beside three checks: ownership, plan and input
AI image generators ·

Can you use AI images commercially? What the terms say

Who owns AI-generated images, and what OpenAI, Midjourney, Google and Canva let you do with them commercially.

Three documents drop into upload trays labelled ChatGPT 512 MB per document, Claude 500 MB per file in a chat and Gemini 100 MB per file.
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini file upload limits: size, count, types

How big a file ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini accept, how many at once, and what each reads in PDFs and spreadsheets.

An AI answer card with date, price and quote claims; two link to highlighted lines in a source document under a magnifier, the quote finds no source.
AI chatbots ·

How to fact-check AI answers from ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

Get the sources, open them and find the line: how to check what ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini tell you.

Chat bubbles feed a card drawer with tabs for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, beside a settings panel with switches for memory and past chats.
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini memory: what each one remembers

What ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini carry between chats, where to see it and how to make each one forget.

A speech bubble holds four prompt parts, goal, context, format and limits, which lead to an answer card with a check mark.
AI chatbots ·

How to write AI prompts that get a usable answer

Four parts that make a chatbot prompt work: the goal, the context, the format and the limits.

A magnifying glass over a landscape image points to two checks: a Content Credentials record and an invisible watermark.
AI images ·

How to tell if an image is AI-generated

Check an image's Content Credentials and watermarks, and know what a missing label does not prove.

A video meeting with notes switched on produces a document that can go to the host, the team or all guests.
AI tools ·

AI meeting notes privacy: consent, storage and settings

Who can switch on AI notes in Zoom, Meet, Teams and Otter, who gets a copy and where the notes are kept.

A project folder holds instructions, chats and files together, while a gem of saved instructions starts separate new chats
ChatGPT ·

ChatGPT Projects vs Claude Projects vs Gemini Gems: which to use

Projects keep chats and files together; Gems save instructions. Compare plans, sharing and sources.

Privacy control sliders in ULKA lime and ink
AI chatbots ·

AI chatbot privacy settings: training and history

ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini expose different controls for model training, saved activity and temporary chats.

Three contrasting visual studies show landscape composition, graphic style and botanical detail.
AI images ·

AI image generators for different creative jobs

Five image tools compared by editing controls, visual style and the work you need to finish.

A task moves through document, browser and calculator tools to a review gate and result.
AI agents ·

AI agents: what they do and where to start

Give an AI agent a useful first task, clear limits and a result you can check.

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