AI Generated Transcript
Introduction
Host:
Welcome, everybody. This is Basics with BITS for Saturday, June 27th, 2026. Today we’re going to be hearing about AI from Kayla.
Kayla:
Thank you, Caroline, and welcome everyone. I’m looking forward to this presentation. I can’t believe we’re already halfway through the year. I personally use multiple AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others. Today’s presentation was created using ChatGPT and Quill, the new tool developed by Jeff Bishop. The audio portion was created through that program, and new builds are being released soon.
I have a 27‑minute presentation about ChatGPT and Gemini. After that, we’ll have questions.
AI Basics
Recorded Presentation:
Welcome to Basics with BITS. BITS stands for Blind Information Technology Solutions. These classes are designed to make technology less intimidating, more practical, and more accessible.
This class is for anyone who is new to artificial intelligence, anyone who has heard of AI but not used it, or anyone who has tried ChatGPT or Google Gemini and wants a clearer starting point.
AI tools can help with everyday tasks such as writing emails, brainstorming ideas, summarizing information, explaining topics, making checklists, planning projects, troubleshooting basic problems, practicing skills, and organizing your thoughts.
AI can make mistakes. It may misunderstand your question, give outdated information, or sound confident even when wrong. Think of AI as a helpful assistant, not a final authority. For anything important such as medical, legal, financial, government, account‑related, or safety‑related information, check with a trusted source.
Artificial intelligence processes information and responds in a way that feels conversational. It does not think like a person; it looks for patterns and uses those patterns to generate responses.
An AI chatbot lets you have a back‑and‑forth conversation. You type or speak a question, and it responds. You can ask follow‑up questions, ask it to explain more, rewrite the answer, or correct something.
Accessibility and Keyboard Navigation
Many people use ChatGPT and Gemini with a keyboard and screen reader such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, or TalkBack. The experience may vary depending on browser, device, operating system, screen reader, and website updates.
Keyboard navigation includes the following:
Tab moves forward
Shift plus Tab moves backward
Enter or Space activates buttons
Control plus L or Command plus L goes to the address bar
Control plus T or Command plus T opens a new tab
Control plus W or Command plus W closes a tab
Alt plus Tab or Command plus Tab switches apps
Control plus A selects all
Control plus C copies
Control plus V pastes
Control plus Z undoes
Screen readers may announce the message box differently. Labels may change over time. Listen for the edit field where you type your message, then move to the Send button.
ChatGPT Section
ChatGPT is an AI chat tool from OpenAI. You can ask questions, give instructions, or paste text. It can answer questions, explain topics, help write drafts, summarize information, organize ideas, and continue a conversation with follow‑up questions.
Accessing ChatGPT:
Open your browser and go to chat.openai.com. You may need to sign in or create an account. Look for options such as Log in, Sign in, Sign up, or Get started. You may sign in with email, Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Verification steps are normal.
ChatGPT is available on the web, desktop apps, and mobile apps.
Layout:
New Chat button
Message edit box
Send button
Chat history
Account or profile menu
Model picker if available
Starting a chat:
Activate New Chat.
Move to the message edit box.
Type your message.
Send it using Enter or the Send button.
You can ask follow‑up questions without repeating everything. You can ask for shorter answers, examples, checklists, or explanations for beginners.
Copying responses:
Look for a Copy button near the answer. If unavailable, select the text manually and copy it.
ChatGPT can rewrite text professionally, simplify explanations, summarize information, organize ideas, create checklists, and explain topics for beginners.
Gemini Section
Gemini is Google’s AI chat tool. It works similarly to ChatGPT. You open the tool, start a chat, type or speak a request, send it, read the answer, and ask follow‑up questions.
Gemini may connect with Google services depending on account type, device, region, and settings.
Accessing Gemini:
Open your browser and go to gemini.google.com. Sign in with your Google account. Verification steps may be required.
Gemini is available on the web and may also be available through Google apps on Android or iOS depending on region and App Store availability.
Layout:
New chat or new prompt
Message edit box
Send button
Response area
Copy button
Conversation history
Account menu
Model or settings options if available
Using Gemini:
Start a new chat.
Move to the message edit box.
Type your request.
Send it using Enter or the Send button.
Read the response using screen reader navigation.
Ask follow‑up questions.
Copy responses if needed.
Gemini and ChatGPT may give different answers. That is normal.
Prompt Writing
A prompt is the instruction you give the AI.
Weak prompt:
Write an email.
Stronger prompt:
Write a short, friendly, professional email to a volunteer thanking them for helping at our event. Mention that we appreciated their time and support, and end by saying we hope to work with them again.
A strong prompt includes:
What you need
Context
Who the answer is for
Format
Tone or style
Examples:
Explain cloud storage to a beginner who uses a screen reader.
Create a step‑by‑step checklist for setting up a new phone.
Summarize this text in plain language.
Rewrite this to sound more professional.
You can ask the AI to improve your prompt.
Safety and Privacy
Do not enter passwords, social security numbers, account numbers, medical details, legal documents, financial records, personal addresses, or anything sensitive.
Before pasting information into any AI tool, ask yourself whether you would be comfortable sharing it outside its original private place.
AI can make mistakes. For important topics, check with official sources or qualified professionals.
Comparison: ChatGPT and Gemini
Both tools allow you to ask questions and receive AI‑generated responses. Both can help with writing, brainstorming, learning, summarizing, planning, and organizing information. Both support follow‑up questions. Both can make mistakes. They may look different on the screen, but the basic process is similar.
Basic pattern:
Open the tool
Start a new chat
Type or speak your request
Send it
Read the answer
Ask follow‑up questions
Q and A Section
Kayla:
ChatGPT is chatgpt.com. Gemini is gemini.google.com. I’ll be in BITS chat tonight to help with any AI questions.
Christina:
I get confused because they seem so similar. What makes them different?
Kayla:
It comes down to which one gives you the best responses and the models they offer. ChatGPT has many models including Deep Research, Study, Instant, Thinking, and Pro. Models determine how the AI behaves. Deep Research goes deep into the web and pulls extensive information.
To access models in ChatGPT:
Tab once from the prompt area to the quick model picker.
For the full list, shift plus tab until you hear Models, press space, and arrow through all available versions.
Gemini has similar model options, though the layout may differ.
Additional Q and A Section
Kayla:
There are two places to find the models in ChatGPT. The first is the quick‑pick model list. When you are in the prompt edit box, tab once and you will hear options such as Instant, Pro, or Thinking. Press spacebar and arrow down to choose one of the quick options.
If you want to see all available models, shift‑tab until you hear Models. Press spacebar to open the dropdown. This list includes Study, Deep Research, and the different ChatGPT versions such as 3.0, 4.5, and 5.5. You can choose whichever version or model fits your needs.
Christina:
That helps a lot. I always hear people talk about models and never know where they are. Is Gemini the same?
Kayla:
Yes, Gemini also has models, but the layout may be different. Sometimes you have to tab around to find something labeled Models or Model Selector. Different chatbots place these controls in different areas.
Abby:
Is there a way to access history in Gemini?
Kayla:
Yes. At the top of the screen, you will usually find an area labeled History or Recents. Some people collapse it, some expand it. Under that section, you will see buttons with the topics of your past chats. Press Enter on any topic to reopen it and continue the conversation.
Abby:
Great, thank you. I use ChatGPT all the time. I even ask the chatbots to help me create prompts. For example, I asked ChatGPT to create a prompt for teaching Basics with BITS. I explained the goals, the audience, and that it needed to be screen‑reader friendly. It generated a full prompt, and when I pasted it into a new chat, it produced the entire presentation. I reviewed it, made sure everything looked good, and then used Quill to turn it into audio.
Kayla:
Exactly. It’s impressive what these tools can do.
Christina:
How long did it take you to create the presentation?
Kayla:
Maybe half an hour to an hour. That includes creating the prompt, pasting it into a new chat, letting it generate the presentation, and reviewing it. The text version ended up being fourteen pages long. I can’t imagine writing all of that manually. Then Jeff helped me put it into Quill, which took another half hour or so.
Abby:
When you recorded the presentation, I noticed it wasn’t your voice. Did you use an AI voice?
Kayla:
Yes. Quill includes about thirty voices built into its text‑to‑speech system. Jeff added those to the program.
Rebecca:
Gemini has Notebook LM and a feature where you can create conversations between two bots. Have you tried that?
Kayla:
I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds interesting. Some organizations have access to Notebook LM. It can summarize multiple files or generate content based on them.
Dawn:
I want ChatGPT to give me book recommendations based on my Goodreads account, but it can’t access Goodreads. How can I get recommendations based on what I’ve read?
Kayla:
Chatbots can only connect to certain applications, and Goodreads isn’t one of them yet. The best approach is to tell the chatbot which authors you’ve read, what genres you enjoy, and what types of books you’re looking for. The more detail you give, the better the recommendations will match your taste.
Anne:
I’m starting from the beginning. I only have an iPhone. Do I need to download OpenAI before using ChatGPT?
Kayla:
On iPhone, go to the App Store, search for ChatGPT, and download it. The first result is usually an advertisement, so swipe right to find the actual app. Tap Get, complete any verification, then open the app and sign in. You can sign in with your Google account, Apple, or an email and password. ChatGPT has a free version, but it limits how many questions you can ask. There are paid plans such as ChatGPT Go and ChatGPT Plus.
Anne:
What is OpenAI?
Kayla:
OpenAI is the organization that created ChatGPT. It is an open‑source, web‑based system. You can adjust privacy settings so your data is not used for training. Go to your profile, open Settings, then Privacy, and uncheck the training option.
Anne:
What is Quill?
Kayla:
Quill is a separate editing program created by Jeff Bishop. It is screen‑reader friendly and available for Windows and Mac. It lets you edit content easily and includes text‑to‑speech voices.
Jim:
Thank you for the presentation.
Kayla:
Thank you for coming.
Cindy:
If I turn off training, does it still store my data? Does it create a profile about me?
Kayla:
It does store your data so it can help you more effectively, but it does not use it for training and does not target you with ads. For example, ChatGPT remembers that I work with BITS and that I am blind, so it automatically writes content in a screen‑reader friendly way.
Cindy:
Is it safe to ask medical questions?
Kayla:
Yes, as long as you understand that AI is not a doctor. You can ask it to explain test results or conditions, but always confirm with your doctor. It is safe from a privacy standpoint if training is turned off.
Rebecca:
Sometimes I ask medical questions and specify the source, such as MedlinePlus or a trusted organization. Gemini also has a research tab that goes deeper into results. Paid plans sometimes have limits and make you wait before continuing.
Kayla:
Yes, that happens to developers too. They run out of limits all the time.
Abby:
I have an observation about copying responses. If you press Copy Response, it copies everything including the chatbot’s commentary. I usually copy only the polished text manually. Also, formatting sometimes changes when pasting into Word.
Kayla:
You can ask the chatbot to generate a downloadable Word document. Or, when pasting, use the Applications key or Shift plus F10, choose Paste, and select Paste as Plain Text. That avoids formatting issues.
Kayla:
Thank you all for coming. I’ll be in BITS chat tonight from eight until ten‑thirty Eastern Time if you want to ask questions or just chat.
Group:
Thank you.