I keep hearing a version of the same sentence:
“I tried to use AI, but the results were kind of disappointing.”
Maybe that sounds familiar. You open an AI tool and ask it to summarize something, create a plan, or help you understand a topic faster. You get an answer back. It’s not terrible or wrong, but something important is missing. It lacks depth, accuracy, or judgment and doesn’t match what you had in mind.
Recently, a colleague shared her experience with AI. She said:
“Last year, AI summaries were super high level. This year, if I do not prompt the right way, it extrapolates. It makes things bigger than they are.”
It probably captures where many people are right now. “It makes things bigger than they are” can be the difference between a helpful recap and an unintended commitment. AI tools are everywhere and they have become more powerful. They are also more sensitive to how we share our intent and problems. Hearing her say that was a good reminder: as the AI tools get smarter, the way we talk to them matters more.
Before we dive deeper, here is the seatbelt line I want you to keep and reuse. Make sure you copy this into every prompt you write:
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