A better AI brief starts with the job
A reusable five-part brief that makes draft outputs easier to judge and revise.
When an AI answer misses the mark, adding more instructions is not always the useful next move. First check whether the job itself is clear. A brief should make it possible for a human colleague to understand what a good result looks like too.
Purpose
State the decision or task the output supports. For example: “Help me prepare questions for a website planning call.” That is more specific than “Give me website advice”.
Context
Supply the relevant facts and label assumptions. Include the audience, the current situation and any material constraints. Leave out information that does not help with the task, especially confidential details that have not been approved for the tool.
Output
Describe a usable format. “Five questions, each with one sentence explaining why it matters” is easier to review than an unspecified report. If you need a table, name the columns and explain how missing information should be shown.
Boundaries
Say what must be preserved and what must not be invented. Ask for unsupported claims, unknown dates and absent source material to be identified. Do not rely on this instruction alone: the reviewer still needs to check the result.
Review
Decide who checks the output and what they will compare it with. Check important facts against the original source. If the task is creative, judge whether the result suits the audience and the business rather than only whether it sounds polished.
A brief you can copy
Download the editable AI brief template to keep a working copy.
Help me prepare [output] for [purpose]. The audience is [audience]. Use these facts: [approved context]. Keep [constraints]. If information is missing, list what is needed rather than making it up. Format the result as [format]. I will review it against [source or criteria].
Try the brief on a small task, then revise the part that caused the misunderstanding. Keep examples of useful outputs so the team has something concrete to work towards. For choosing a suitable first experiment, read Choose an AI task small enough to check.