Brief the AI like a smart colleague on their first day
Say who it's for, what it's for and what good looks like. Three short lines of context beat any clever wording.
Summarize this report.
Summarize the attached report for my director, who has five minutes before a budget meeting. They need to know: what changed since last quarter, the two biggest risks, and whether we're on budget. Keep it under 150 words, bullet points, no jargon.
Why it works
The AI knows a lot about reports in general and nothing about your situation. A new colleague would ask who it's for, why they need it and how long it should be, so answer those up front. If a smart person with no background would be confused by your prompt, the AI will be too.
Try it now
Click a highlighted part and type your own details. Press Enter to jump to the next one, then copy.
[What you want done] for [who it's for], who needs it to [their goal]. They care most about: [the two or three things that matter]. Keep it [length], [format], [tone].
Variations
When you don't know what matters
Before you start, tell me what a [role] would most want to know from this, and check that with me.
For a recurring task
Use this as your standing brief for the rest of this chat. Each time I paste a new weekly report, summarize it the same way.
Based on: Anthropic, "Prompting best practices: be clear and direct". Last checked October 3, 2026.
Liked that? One tip like this every week.
A short email with one habit, the prompt to copy and why it works. Nothing else.
One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click.