Most people I talk to are in the same spot with AI. They know they should be using it. They have tried it once or twice, got something generic back, and went back to their real work. AI today is very different from just a few months ago. Give it another try.
You need about 20 minutes and three steps.
Step 1: Pick a platform (3 minutes)
There are many choices, and the choice matters less than starting. But if you want my ranking, based on what each tool can do and how easy it is to use, here it is:
- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity (best for research with sources) and LM Studio (the privacy pick: it can run AI models on your own computer, so nothing leaves the building)
- Gemini, Copilot, Muse and Grok
Here’s the distinction behind that list. Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and LM Studio come from AI companies. AI is their product, so the product is built around it. Gemini (Google), Copilot (Microsoft), Muse (Meta), and Grok (xAI, now part of SpaceX and built into X and Tesla) come from megacorporations that are adding AI into products that were already complicated. They are just as powerful. But they are harder to navigate because the AI is one feature among hundreds, and it shows up differently in every app.
One practical note: use the desktop app rather than a browser tab. Most desktop apps can work directly with a folder on your computer, which matters for Step 2. I highly recommend the vendors’ $20/month plan. It generally gives you the functionality you need and a reason to stick with it for a month.
Step 2: Build your context folder (7 minutes)
AI is only as useful as what it knows about you. So give it something to read.
On your computer, make one folder called AI with two folders inside it:
- input: what you give the AI
- output: what the AI gives back
Then fill input with documents you already have that describe your business, your organization, or the project you’ll be working on. Don’t write anything new and don’t polish anything. Think:
- Mission statement or company overview
- Business plan, strategic plan or annual report
- Descriptions of your products, services or programs
- A recent proposal, pitch or report you’re proud of
- This year’s budget
Ten documents are better than two. One caution: leave out customer records, personnel files, and anything else with personal information until you’ve checked your platform’s data settings and your own policies.
Connect the folder to your AI (or upload the input files), and you’re ready. Hint: ask your AI how best to do that.
Step 3: Ask, don’t prompt (10 minutes)
This is the step that surprises people.
My opinion: prompt engineering is dead. Before this year, you had to learn how to phrase things exactly right. Today’s AI tools are too good for that to be worth a beginner’s time. Over the last 12 months or so, a better approach has emerged: ask questions. The AI knows what it can do far better than a beginner, so let it tell you.
Start with three.
Question 1: “Read everything in my input folder. What other documents do you need from me?”
It will tell you what’s missing. Find those and add them.
Question 2: “What’s the best way for you to remember enough context from one chat to the next? Go ahead and set it up.”
In most cases, the answer is a summary file that lives in your output folder, plus an instruction to read that file at the start of every chat. Let it build that now. This is what turns AI from a stranger you re-explain yourself to every time into a colleague who’s read the manual and has been paying attention.
Question 3: “What can you do for me?”
Leave it open-ended, or make it specific: “What can you do to help me win more customers?” “…to help us raise money?” “…to get our monthly report done in half the time?”
Then pick one thing on its list and say: “Ask me any questions you need, then do it.”
That’s the 20 minutes
Platform, folder, three questions. You haven’t learned AI yet, but you’ve started the right way: the AI knows who you are, remembers it, and has told you where it can help.
From here, the habit is simple. When something changes in your work, drop the document into input. When you’re not sure what to do next, ask.
Good luck on your journey.
Regards,
Charles Stack
Founder, Coworkers.Global