You typed your email address again yesterday. A checkout page, a login screen, some form that refused to move until you filled it in.
And at least once recently, you typed it wrong. One letter off, the confirmation never came, and you sat there blaming the website.
A reader put the same pain in one line last week: "How do I add in my home address? It's annoying to constantly fill that in all the time."
The fix has been sitting in your device settings the whole time. You teach it a tiny code once, like @@, and from then on typing @@ drops in your full email address. Any app, anywhere you type.
Two minutes to set up. This issue is that setup, plus the shortcuts worth building once you see it work.
📊 One click first: where do you use AI most?
Vote, then jump to your device below. In the comments, tell me why that one. Your answer decides which device gets covered first in future issues.
🛠️ Start with the things you type every day
Before any AI prompts, set up the ones that pay off 10 times a day:
@@ → your email address
## → your phone number
;addr → your home address
;sig → the sign-off you type at the end of every email
Pick codes you'll remember. One reader uses 00 for his email "so I don't mess it up." Another uses zz. The symbols don't matter.
One rule does: pick something you'd never type by accident. A doubled symbol or a semicolon start is safe. A plain word like add will fire every time you type "add" in a normal sentence.
Type the code, press the spacebar, the full text appears. Your email lands spelled right, and your address types itself while your coffee is still hot.
One parent's warning before we go on: "Just don't teach this tip to your kids. Mine pranked me with this one so I was answering skibidi Gen Z slang in work emails."
⚡ Set it up on your device (2 minutes)
iPhone / iPad
Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement → tap +
Phrase: paste your full email address. Shortcut: type @@. Save.
Mac
System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements → click +
Replace: @@. With: your email address. Click Add.
Android
Open any text box → tap the gear on your keyboard → Dictionary → Personal dictionary → your language → tap +
Type your email address, set @@ as the shortcut. Save. When you type @@, tap the suggestion that pops up.
Windows
Windows has no built-in text replacement, so pin to Clipboard History instead. Press Windows + V and turn it on. Copy your email address, press Windows + V, pin it. From then on: Windows + V, click, done.
I took screenshots of every step on all 4 devices, so you don't have to hunt through menus:
On a different device, or stuck on a step? Hit reply and tell me which device. I'll point you to the right steps.
🔍 Safe to use, with one exception
Text replacement is built into your device. Your shortcuts live in your settings, and expanding one sends nothing to any app or company. For email addresses, phone numbers, and prompts, it's as private as your keyboard.
Passwords and card numbers are different. One reader wrote "it even works for passwords!!" and others keep bank accounts and card codes in there. Do not do this. Shortcuts sit in plain text, and they'll expand in front of anyone using your unlocked device. Money and logins belong in a password manager, and nowhere else.
🚀 Past the basics: prompts worth a shortcut
If the email trick is old news to you, this layer is yours.
The same feature holds full AI prompts. These 5 run my week, each under its own tag:
;draft (first draft of anything)
Act as my work assistant. I'll describe a task. Ask me 2 quick questions if you need context, then write a short first draft. No preamble, just the draft. Here's the task:
;sharper (make a draft better)
Critique the text I just gave you like a sharp editor. Point out the 3 weakest spots and rewrite only those. Keep my voice. Don't rewrite the whole thing.
;short (long thing into bullets)
Summarize the following into 5 plain-English bullets a busy person can scan in 20 seconds. Cut jargon. Keep only what changes a decision. Text:
;reply (fast email reply)
Write a short, warm, professional reply to the email below. Match its tone, get to the point in the first line, no filler. Email:
;check (catch AI mistakes before you paste)
Review your last answer. List anything that's a guess, an unverified fact, or a number you can't back up. If something needs checking before I use it, say so plainly.
Click Here to Download the step-by-step screenshots → or reply and I will send it personally.
One Reader Said
Readers push this further than I do. Full email templates for the questions they answer every week. Brand colors (;blue → #BAF5FF, straight into any design tool). Hashtag groups for posts. A few paragraphs of placeholder text for mockups.
One system tip if you build a collection: keep ; for prompts and ;; for context blocks. Your codes stay sorted, and over time they turn into your own command system that works in every app. On Windows, pin the prompts the same clipboard way.
📨 Your 2-minute win
Set up @@ for your email address right now, before you close this. On your next login form, type @@, press space, and watch it land, spelled right.
Every shortcut in this issue is one I use myself. ;email types my email address, ;address types my home address, and those 5 prompt tags carry my drafts, checks, and replies all week.
I type the tag, press the spacebar, and the full text drops in before I get the chance to mistype it.
What's the first shortcut you'll set up? Hit reply, I read everything.
Dan Rice · AI Signal
Read once. Use AI better all week.