All tips

30 tips

• Ask a long document your questions instead of asking for a summary

  [paste the 40-page vendor proposal for the new scheduling software]

  ResearchBeginner2 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask for a simple explanation, then have the AI quiz you

  I work in operations and keep hearing "gross margin" in planning meetings. Explain it to me simply, with one everyday example and no formulas beyond what I really need.

  LearningBeginner10 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask for edits that keep your voice, not a full rewrite

  Edit the announcement below for a team newsletter. Fix grammar and typos, cut words that aren't pulling their weight, and smooth any clunky sentences.

  WritingBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask for sources, then check them yourself

  I'm putting together a short briefing on employee turnover for our leadership team.

  ResearchBeginner5 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask for three different options, then pick one

  Give me three subject lines for an email asking customers to fill out a five-minute satisfaction survey.

  Any taskBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask the AI to argue against your proposal

  I'm proposing that our team switch from weekly status meetings to a written update every Monday, with one live meeting a month. My proposal is below.

  WritingIntermediate3 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask the AI to improve your prompt before you use it

  Before you answer it, rewrite it into a better prompt. Add what you'd need to know to do a great job, and list any questions you have for me.

  Any taskBeginner30 seconds
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Ask the AI what it's unsure about

  Then add a section called "Check before you share" that lists:

  Any taskBeginner30 seconds
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Break a big project into milestones and a first step

  I'm leading our team's move from spreadsheets to a new project management tool. There are 18 people on the team, the tool is already purchased, and we need everyone using it by the start of next quarter, 10 weeks from now. I can spend about four hours a week on this, and I have one colleague who can help.

  PlanningBeginner3 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Brief the AI like a smart colleague on their first day

  Summarize the attached report for my director, who has five minutes before a budget meeting.

  Any taskBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Build a meeting agenda from the outcome you need

  I'm running a 45-minute meeting with six people from sales and support.

  MeetingsIntermediate2 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Catch up on a long email thread in one minute

  I've just been added to the email thread below about changing our office cleaning vendor. I need to catch up before replying.

  EmailBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Compare your options in a table with a recommendation

  I'm choosing a venue for a two-day team offsite for 25 people. Here are three quotes I've received:

  ResearchBeginner3 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Describe what you want and get the spreadsheet formula

  I have a sales pipeline sheet. Column B is the sales rep's name, column D is the deal stage (like "Prospect", "Negotiation" or "Closed Won") and column E is the deal value. The data starts in row 2.

  Spreadsheets & dataBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Dump everything on your mind and get a plan for the week

  Here's everything on my plate this week, in no particular order:

  PlanningBeginner5 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Get help saying no without the guilt

  A colleague in another department asked me to help plan their team's offsite next month. I can't. I'm covering for someone on leave and I'm at capacity until the end of the quarter.

  EmailBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Paste a confusing formula and get a plain-English walkthrough

  I inherited an order sheet from a colleague who has left. Column A has product codes, column C has quantities, and there's a separate tab called Prices. Cell F2 has this formula:

  Spreadsheets & dataBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Paste a few past emails so replies sound like you

  Here are three emails I've written recently. Study how I write: sentence length, greeting, sign-off, how direct I am.

  EmailBeginner2 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Paste the source and tell the AI to stick to it

  Below is our remote work policy. Using only this document, answer these questions:

  Any taskBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Put pasted text inside tags so the AI knows what's yours

  Draft a polite reply to the customer email inside the <email> tags. Our refund window is 30 days and this order is 45 days old, so offer store credit instead of a refund. Keep it under 120 words.

  Any taskIntermediate30 seconds
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Rehearse a hard conversation before you have it

  I need to tell the head of a partner team that the reporting dashboard they asked for will be six weeks late, because two of our analysts were moved to another project. They're under pressure from their own leadership and tend to push back hard.

  MeetingsIntermediate10 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Reply with specific feedback instead of starting over

  Close. Keep the structure and the opening line. Three changes:

  Any taskBeginner30 seconds
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Rewrite long emails so the request comes first

  Rewrite my email below so the request is in the very first sentence, including the deadline.

  EmailBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Rewrite the same message for a different audience

  Below is the internal note I wrote about our new expense approval process. Rewrite it three ways:

  WritingBeginner2 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Say what shape you want the answer in

  Give me a table with one row per vendor and these columns: yearly cost, setup time, support hours, and the biggest drawback.

  Any taskBeginner30 seconds
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Show the AI one example of what you want

  Here's one we already published that I like. Match its length, tone and layout:

  Any taskBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Tell the AI to ask you questions before it starts

  Before you write anything, ask me up to five questions about what you'd need to know to get this right. Ask them all at once, then wait for my answers.

  Any taskBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Tell the AI who to be when it reviews your work

  Act as a skeptical finance lead reviewing the proposal below. Your job is to protect the budget, and you've seen plenty of plans that overpromise.

  Any taskBeginner30 seconds
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Turn a messy list into a clean table

  Below is a list of event sign-ups copied from emails and a web form. Turn it into a table with these columns: First name, Last name, Email, Team, Sign-up date.

  Spreadsheets & dataBeginner2 minutes
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot

• Turn messy meeting notes into a clear action list

  Below are my rough notes from today's planning meeting for the spring product launch.

  MeetingsBeginner1 minute
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Copilot