🤖 Secret phrases to get you past AI bot customer service

Welcome to your Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. Ever type out an entire paragraph before realizing YOU’VE BEEN YELLING THE WHOLE TIME? Classic. The Caps Lock key strikes again. 

😡 It’s pretty rare that we need words shouted in ALL CAPS, but this keyboard button keeps hanging around like the office plant no one waters. Talk about a capital crime! What percentage of all global keystrokes does the Caps Lock key actually get? A) 1%, B) 3%, C) 6% or D) 10%? Take a guess, then read on! THE ANSWER IS AT THE END. 

🎟️ The clock’s ticking. Only six days remain in my Christmas Cash Giveaway. Daily Amazon gift cards worth up to $500 are still rolling out, plus the $1,000 grand prize. Check the Golden Ticket section below before you miss it.

Forward this to a friend who pretends to be a “keyboard shortcut expert” but still hits Caps Lock to capitalize letters one by one. We see you, Jeff. — Kim

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You’re gonna love me for this. Say you’re calling customer service because you need help. Maybe your bill is wrong, your service is down or you want a refund. Instead of a person, a cheerful AI voice answers and drops you into an endless loop of menus and misunderstood prompts. Now what? 

That’s not an accident. Many companies use what insiders call “frustration AI.” The system is specifically designed to exhaust you until you hang up and walk away.

Not today. 

You want a human. For starters, don’t explain your issue. That’s the trap. You need words the AI has been programmed to treat differently.

If direct commands fail with AI, be a confused human.

Use these tricks when you need help. You are calling for service, not an AI bot.

👊🏼 Do your friends a solid. Use the icons below to share these incredible insider AI tricks you won’t find anywhere else.

A dad’s attempt to buy a $1,200 e-bike turned terrifying when guns were drawn on him and his son. I talk to the father. Plus, Australia kicks kids off social, a chatbot charged with murder, and a DoorDash disaster. I also challenge AI to write a hit song.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

🖥️ Uncle Sam wants you (if you can code): After gutting in-house tech teams like 18F (they fixed clunky gov websites), the Trump admin’s hiring 1,000 workers under a new “Tech Force.” Some are young hires. Others are managers on loan from giants like Meta and Palantir, meaning they’ll go back to their companies later. The pay is $150K to $200K salaries with no divest requirement. Throw this up during family get-togethers. Maybe your nephew can finally afford to move out of the basement and complain about his landlord instead of a job search. Learn more here.

Once upon a brand: If you’ve noticed brands talking like influencers, this is why. Companies are hiring “storytellers” to write articles, podcasts and speeches, basically PR but with more of a personal blog vibe (paywall link). Google and Nike are paying real money for workers who can think and write like normal people. I get it. The internet’s an AI slop flood, attention is hard-earned, and brands want to sound human everywhere all the time. Next up, Samsung sounding like a plumber on his third divorce.

Computer cried wolf: A Florida middle school went into lockdown after an AI weapons-detection system flagged a student carrying what it thought was a rifle. It was a clarinet. Yes, band class. The system auto-triggered a Code Red before humans caught it. To be fair, anyone who’s heard a middle schooler play clarinet knows the pain. It’s another reminder AI still needs humans in the loop, badly.

💸 PayPal piggybacking: If you got a legit-looking PayPal email saying you bought a $1,400 iPhone, relax. It’s part of a new scam where crooks abuse PayPal’s subscriptions system to send scary charge alerts from PayPal’s actual email. Tricky stuff, the emails come straight from PayPal’s servers, so they dodge spam filters. The email includes a fake purchase and a phone number to cancel, hoping you’ll call. Don’t. Check your PayPal directly. Crooks are trying to bamboozle you. 

Self-driving bogeyman: This is horrifying. A woman in L.A. ordered a driverless Waymo car for her daughter, only to find a man trapped in the trunk. He says the last rider left it open, and he climbed in. Waymo says the situation was “unacceptable” and is making changes. Everyone’s OK, but if you’re using robo taxis, check for stowaways. Reminder, driverless doesn’t mean drama-less. 

💗 Mom, take the wheel: Tired of shirtless selfies and ghosting on dating apps, burned out singles are handing their profiles to the same people who ask why they’re still single. Parents are helping swipe (paywall link) on Bumble and Hinge, picking “good” photos, filtering out red flags and even cheering from the couch like it’s an in-house episode of The Bachelorette. The crazy part? It’s working for some. For others, it’s awkward group therapy with push notifications.

The days of paying $500 an hour for a lawyer are over. Here’s how AI is forcing firms to pivot.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Missed a special photo because your camera took too long to open? Here’s a neat trick. On Android, double-tap the power button to launch the camera. On iPhone, swipe left on the lock screen. Whoop whoop, no unlocking, no menus, just point and shoot.

🔐 A credit freeze in so 1990s now: A credit freeze won’t stop someone from opening bank accounts, filing fake tax returns or using your info in data breaches. You need real protection that monitors the dark web, leaks and identity threats a freeze can’t touch. I used to have LifeLock but it got so expensive. That’s why I switched and get more protection for less money. Here’s what I use and now, get up to 71% off with my exclusive link.*

🔌 Stop running out of outlets: I’m always short on plugs with all the tech at home, so a multi-plug extender has saved me more times than I can count. The one I use is under $10 and turns two wall outlets into five, plus it adds four USB ports so I can charge everything at once. And yes, it has surge protection.

🆕 Fun stuff to try in iOS 26.2 today

📱 iOS 26.2: Reminders just got louder. When creating a reminder, you’ll see a new Urgent toggle under Date & Time. Turn it on, and when the time hits, your iPhone will play a full alarm instead of a simple notification. You can complete the task right away or stop it, and it’ll stick around as a Live Activity until you do.

⌚ watchOS 26.2: Your Apple Watch now supports enhanced safety alerts. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Enhanced Safety Alerts to turn them on. You’ll see options like Earthquake Alerts and Imminent Threat Alerts, which carry over to your watch. If something happens, you’ll get alerts with affected areas and what to do.

🍏 iPadOS 26.2: The Freeform app finally supports tables. Tap the table icon in the toolbar to insert one, then use the new options bar to adjust the number of rows and columns. You can drag photos into cells, add text or customize the table with filled-in colors or borders. Give it a try the next time you’re brainstorming ideas.

Getting an eye exam is one of those things you keep meaning to do, like stretching or calling your aunt.

Meet the Eyebot S1 kiosk, a self-serve vision testing machine that spits out a prescription in about 90 seconds, no optometrist’s chair or “read line three” required.

It tests your eyes on the spot with automated optics and AI-based measurements, which feels less like a doctor’s appointment and more like a DMV without the attitude. Health care innovation is officially becoming a vending machine, and that tracks.

The answer: A) 1%. Yep, the Caps Lock key accounts for 1% of global keystrokes. Yep, 99% of the time, our fingers are off doing way more productive things, like writing fluent lowercase or using the Shift key like an aristocrat. 

⚒️ Pro tip: Many folks remap the Caps Lock key to do something helpful, like becoming an extra Control key for faster shortcuts. I know two great free tools to change the Caps Lock key into a special shortcut you might want. On Windows, use PowerToys. Mac folks, check out Karabiner-Elements. Sorry, Caps, it’s not us, it’s definitely you and your shifty business.

Tomorrow, I’m showing you how to gift crypto without losing your mind (or your nephew’s inheritance). This is the #1 tech newsletter in the United States. 

✌️ Put your phone down tonight like it’s a toxic ex. You’ll thank yourself tomorrow. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Gemini, Amazon, KOKODI

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