Photograph a fine-print contract and ask AI what you need to do
Tsugunori Katayama, a retired company executive in Japan born in 1953 who teaches smartphone and AI skills to older adults, got more than ten pages of tiny print from his phone and internet company. He covered his personal details, photographed the pages, and asked ChatGPT to sum them up, tell him what he had to do, and point out anything it couldn't read.
What they did
The papers were about a change of internet provider, and the small type and sheer length made him want to give up before he started. He hid his name, address, and other personal details with sticky notes, took photos of the pages with his phone, and asked ChatGPT for a summary and a list of anything he needed to do. He also told it to say which page and spot it couldn't read, and to leave those parts out of the summary instead of guessing.
How it went
ChatGPT pulled out the key points: the provider change, the switch-over and start dates, no home visit needed for installation, a two-year contract that renews on its own, the monthly fees, and the cancellation fee. His only to-dos were to remember the start date and check that his internet and phone worked after the switch. He then compared the summary with the original papers, and in the parts he checked they matched. Nothing big needed doing, and his bill wasn't going up much. His rule of thumb: let AI read it for you, but do the final check yourself. His post is in Japanese.
Worth knowing
AI can misread small print, tables, and footnotes, and it sometimes fills gaps with confident guesses, so always check fees, dates, renewal terms, and cancellation charges against the paper itself. If anything is unclear, call the company at the number on your bill or its official website, not a number from an email or text. Cover your name, address, birth date, phone number, and account or contract numbers before you take the photo.
Try it yourself
Copy this into ChatGPT (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
I've attached photos of a contract from my [phone / internet / other] company. I've covered my name, address, and account numbers. Please: 1) Summarize it in plain English: what's changing, key dates, contract length, whether it renews on its own, monthly charges, and any cancellation fee. 2) List anything I need to do, and by when. 3) Tell me the page and spot of anything you couldn't read clearly, and leave those parts out of the summary instead of guessing. 4) List questions I should ask the company before I agree. [attach photos]
Source: 片山嗣規 (Tsugunori Katayama), note (Tsugunori Katayama's blog), Sep 18, 2026. Read the original →
First-hand account by the person who did it. Summarized in our own words. Spotted a mistake or want this removed? Tell us.