An 80+ learner's real-life experience with Google Workspace, Squarespace, and the challenges of setting up a professional email address.
Why I Wanted a Business Email
For some time, I have been building AI123.ca, a website dedicated to helping seniors explore and learn about artificial intelligence.
My motto is simple: AI123.ca — Exploring → Learning → Documenting.
I am not a technology expert. I am an 80+ learner who enjoys discovering useful things and sharing my experiences with other people, especially seniors who may feel that modern technology is moving too quickly.
As AI123.ca grows, I thought it was time to establish a professional email address: davidau@ai123.ca.
It would give my website a more professional identity and provide a business contact address for readers, advertisers, and potential partners.
It sounded like a straightforward project. I soon discovered otherwise.
When Two Technology Services Meet
My domain, ai123.ca, is registered through Squarespace Domains, while my website runs on Blogger.
I decided to try Google Workspace to set up my business email.
I started a Google Workspace trial and followed the instructions. However, I encountered a confusing message saying that my domain was already in use.
Google subsequently acknowledged the new account in one part of the process, but I continued to encounter difficulties accessing the administrator account. At one point, I found myself returning to the trial and billing pages instead of reaching the place where I could manage my business email.
I began wondering: Had I successfully created the account? Was the domain already connected to another Google-managed account? Was there something wrong with my domain settings?
I did not have a clear answer.
The Troubleshooting Journey
Over the following days, I tried different routes to resolve the problem.
I explored Google's account recovery process, reviewed its help instructions, and sought assistance through the Google support community. I also considered whether Squarespace's domain settings might need attention.
Each time I thought I was making progress, another page or message seemed to send me back to where I had started.
It was frustrating, especially because I wanted to solve the problem without accidentally changing settings that might affect my existing website or email arrangements.
One important lesson emerged: owning a domain name and having administrative access to a Google Workspace account are two different things.
Registering ai123.ca with Squarespace does not automatically mean that I can access every Google service associated with that domain. Equally, seeing a business email address acknowledged during signup does not, by itself, prove that the mailbox is fully operational.
Google has official procedures for dealing with a domain that is already in use and for recovering administrator access. The right procedure depends on the actual account situation.
Why I Decided Not to Rush
Another consideration was cost.
The Google Workspace trial displayed a paid subscription scheduled to begin after the trial period. I needed to understand what account I had created, whether the email service was working, and what I would be paying before committing to an ongoing expense.
For a small website operated by one person, every recurring expense deserves consideration.
I had not committed myself to a final decision about the setup. I wanted to understand the situation first.
Rather than repeatedly clicking through the same pages or changing domain settings without certainty, I decided to pause, review what had happened, and seek a clearer route forward.
Sometimes, stopping is not giving up. It is simply making room for a better decision.
Five Lessons for Other Seniors
1. Start with a clear objective.
Know what you want to achieve before signing up. In my case, the objective was a working business email address using my own domain.
2. Understand the different services involved.
Your domain registrar, website host, and email provider may be three separate services. Each has a different role, and changing one does not automatically fix the others.
3. Treat error messages as clues, not final answers.
A message saying that a domain is already in use does not necessarily mean that someone has stolen your domain. It means the situation needs to be investigated through the appropriate account or domain verification process.
4. Be careful with billing and DNS settings.
Check the trial end date, subscription price, and renewal terms. Do not make unfamiliar DNS changes until you understand what they do and have recorded the existing settings.
5. Do not be embarrassed to ask for help—or to take a break.
Technology problems can be difficult even for experienced users. Keep a record of what you have tried, save important messages, and avoid repeating the same unsuccessful steps indefinitely.
My AI Companion and I Are Still Learning
Throughout this experience, I have relied on my AI companion to help me understand the instructions, examine the possible causes, and work through the problem step by step.
AI has been useful, but this experience has also reminded me that AI assistance is not magic. It can help explain a problem and suggest a path forward, but it cannot automatically confirm the status of a private account or guarantee that a technical fix will work.
We must still verify the facts and make careful decisions.
At the time of writing, my Google Workspace business email setup remains unresolved. My next step is to establish exactly where the account stands and determine whether the administrator access issue or the domain-in-use issue needs to be addressed first.
I will share an update when there is genuine progress.
A Final Thought
At 80+, I am still learning. Sometimes the journey is smooth; sometimes I find myself going around in circles.
But that is part of exploring new technology.
We do not need to understand everything at once. We need patience, curiosity, and the willingness to learn from our mistakes.
The goal is not to become a technology expert overnight. The goal is to make technology work for us, one step at a time.
That is the spirit behind AI123.ca.
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