Most business owners try AI once, get a vague result, and move on. The problem is not the tool. The problem is that nobody taught you how to give it instructions. This guide covers a simple five-part framework called BRIEF that turns AI from a novelty into a daily business tool. It works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and every other major AI assistant.
Why Most AI Prompts Fail (and What to Do Instead)
Here is what usually happens. You type something like "write me a marketing email" into ChatGPT. You get a generic, fluffy response that could have been written for any business on Earth. You spend 20 minutes rewriting it. You conclude AI is overrated.
The real issue is a misunderstanding about what AI actually is. Most people treat it like an all-knowing oracle — ask a question, get a perfect answer. That is not how it works. AI is more like a toolbox of skills. It can write, summarise, brainstorm, research, analyse data, and generate ideas. But each skill needs clear instructions to work properly.
There is another thing to know. AI has what experts call jagged intelligence — it is superhuman at some things and surprisingly bad at others. It can write a professional email in seconds, summarise a 50-page report in moments, or brainstorm 20 product names on command. But it confidently invents facts that do not exist, it struggles with basic maths, and it loses track of details in long conversations.
Think of AI as a brilliant contractor who has never worked in your industry. They can write, research, and create — but they cannot read your mind. The quality of their work depends entirely on the quality of your brief.
The good news: once you learn how to write a good brief, the results are dramatically better. That is where the BRIEF framework comes in.
The BRIEF Framework: 5 Steps to a Better Prompt
BRIEF is a five-part structure for writing AI prompts that consistently produce usable results. Each part gives the AI a different type of information it needs to do good work. Once you get the hang of it, writing effective prompts takes less than a minute.
Important: You are not limited to text in the prompt box. Most AI tools let you upload documents alongside your prompt — customer personas, previous reports, brand guidelines, meeting transcripts, spreadsheets, even photos of whiteboards. The more real context you give it, the less it has to guess. If you have an example of what "good" looks like, attach it. If you have data it needs to work with, upload it. This single habit is the difference between generic output and output that sounds like it came from someone who actually works in your business.
Background — The strategic context
Give 2–4 lines about your situation: your industry, your audience, and the specific problem you are solving. This stops the AI from giving you generic advice.
Role — The expertise lens
Tell the AI who it should act as. This shapes the vocabulary, tone, and depth of the response. A "senior accountant" gives different advice than a "marketing strategist."
Intent — The deliverable and outcome
State exactly what you want produced and the business result it should drive. Vague intent produces vague output.
Examples — The quality bar
Show the AI what good looks like. Upload a previous report, proposal, or email you were happy with and say "follow this style." You can also describe the tone in words. Either way, this single element improves output quality more than anything else.
Format — The presentation layer
Define the structure, length, and layout so the output is usable immediately — no reformatting needed.
Copy the BRIEF Template
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI tool. Fill in each section with your details.
Use Markdown to Structure Your Prompts
When writing longer prompts, use markdown formatting — headers with ##, bullet points with -, and bold with **. This is not just about making your prompt look neat. AI models are trained on markdown, so they parse structured prompts more accurately. It also makes your saved prompts much easier for your team to read and reuse.
I run a landscaping business in Brisbane...
## Intent
Write a follow-up email that:
- Addresses the quote we sent Tuesday
- Asks one qualifying question
- **Does not** offer a discount
See the Difference
I run a consulting firm. We just finished Phase 2 of a data migration for Acme Corp. Deadline was met, but we found 3 data quality issues for Phase 3.
## Role
You are a senior project manager who communicates clearly with non-technical stakeholders.
## Intent
Draft a client update email to Sarah Chen (VP Operations) that:
- Highlights what was completed
- Flags the 3 issues **without causing alarm**
- Proposes a 15-minute call to discuss Phase 3
## Examples
I have attached two previous client update emails for reference. Match this tone — professional but not stiff. No jargon. Similar to: "Great news — Phase 2 is done. We spotted a few things to address in Phase 3."
## Format
- Under 200 words
- Include a subject line
- Use short paragraphs
Three Problems, Three Solutions
When we work with business owners on AI, they almost always fall into one of three situations. Here is what to do in each one.
"I don't know where to start"
If you are staring at a blank prompt and have no idea what to type, ask AI to help you write the prompt. Say: "I need to [your task]. Help me write a detailed prompt I can use to get a good result." The AI will generate a structured prompt you can copy, tweak, and reuse. It is the fastest way to skip the learning curve.
"I have a specific task"
If you know what you want done, micromanage your AI using BRIEF. Fill in all five parts. The more detail you give up front, the less time you spend editing afterward. Think of it as writing a brief for a contractor — precise instructions get precise results.
"I want a better result"
If you are getting decent output but want to push it further, ask AI to interview you first. Instead of guessing what context to provide, add this line to the end of any prompt:
The AI will ask you 3–5 targeted questions about your situation, audience, and constraints. Your answers give it the context it needs to produce a dramatically better result. This is the single most powerful technique we have found — try it once and you will never go back to guessing what to include.
Break Big Tasks into Small Ones
One of the biggest mistakes with AI is trying to do too much in one prompt. People ask things like "analyse our Q3 financials, identify cost overruns, and create a board presentation" — all in one go. The result is a long, shallow response full of generic advice and potentially made-up numbers.
The fix is task decomposition. Instead of asking AI to do an entire job, break it into steps. Think: Job → Workflow → Task. AI is not great at jobs (complex, multi-step work requiring judgment). But it is excellent at individual tasks — the specific, concrete actions that make up a workflow.
Give AI the raw data
## Background
$2M ARR B2B software company. Q3 P&L statements attached.
## Role
You are a forensic accountant.
## Intent
Identify the 3 largest variable cost increases quarter-over-quarter. Ignore fixed costs.
## Format
Table: line item, dollar amount, percentage change.
Feed the output into the next prompt
## Background
[Paste the table from Step 1]
Limited engineering resources. Cannot rebuild infrastructure this quarter.
## Role
You are a COO for mid-market SaaS.
## Intent
Suggest 3 operational (non-technical) fixes to reduce these costs.
## Format
Numbered list with:
- Difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard)
- 30-day savings estimate
Turn strategy into deliverables
## Background
[Paste the list from Step 2]
Board meeting Thursday. Audience: non-technical investors.
## Role
You are a management consultant specialising in investor communications.
## Intent
Convert these into a 3-slide narrative:
1. The Problem
2. The Fix
3. The Financial Impact
## Format
Slide-by-slide script with speaker notes.
Each step takes 30 seconds to run. You can check the output at every stage. And because each prompt is focused on one task, the quality is far higher than asking for everything at once.
Which AI Tool for Which Task
Not every AI tool is built the same. Using the wrong one for the job is like hiring a plumber to do your taxes. Here is a quick guide to matching your task to the right type of tool.
| Business Task | Best Tool Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Emails, briefs, summaries | Fast generalist | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Complex analysis and strategy | Reasoning model | ChatGPT Pro, Claude Opus |
| Research with sources | Search-augmented | Perplexity, ChatGPT with browsing |
| Analysing images and documents | Vision model | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Sensitive or confidential data | Enterprise / self-hosted | Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock |
Tip: Model names change every few months. When you document AI processes for your team, refer to the type of tool (e.g. "use a reasoning model") rather than a specific product name. This keeps your processes evergreen. For deeper tool-specific guidance, see our guide to using ChatGPT for business.
Three Rules to Protect Yourself
AI tools are designed to be helpful, which sounds great until you realise "helpful" often means "agreeable." They will validate your bad ideas, invent statistics to support your argument, and confidently present made-up facts. Here are three rules to protect yourself.
The Honesty Clause
AI has a built-in "niceness bias" — it wants to agree with you. To counter this, add to any high-stakes prompt: "Before answering, ask me two clarifying questions about constraints I may have missed. Then give me critical feedback as if you were a sceptical board member — not just validation."
The Red Team Technique
When evaluating a business idea or major decision, explicitly ask AI to argue against you: "List three reasons this plan will fail. Identify specific data gaps I need to verify before proceeding." The best use of AI is often as a devil's advocate, not a cheerleader.
The Calculation Check
Never trust AI-generated numbers. It will invent financial projections, fabricate statistics, and get basic arithmetic wrong — all with total confidence. Use AI to structure your spreadsheet, outline your model, or write the formulas. Then verify the actual numbers yourself.
Industry-Specific Prompt Templates
The fastest way to start using BRIEF is to copy a template and swap in your details. Here are four ready-to-use prompts — one for each major industry. Copy them, customise them, and see how much better the output is.
Tenant Maintenance Communication
I manage a portfolio of 120 residential units. Tenant in Unit 4B (James Morton, lease expires Sept 2026) has a leaking kitchen tap. Licensed plumber is booked for Thursday 10am–12pm. Tenant has been reliable — we want to keep the relationship strong.
## Role
You are a professional property manager with 15 years of residential leasing experience.
## Intent
Draft an email that:
- Confirms the plumber booking
- Asks tenant to clear under the kitchen sink
- Provides emergency number (0400 555 123) if it worsens before Thursday
## Examples
I have attached our standard tenant comms template. Match this tone — professional but warm. Similar to: "Hi James — good news, we have the plumber locked in." No jargon.
## Format
- Under 150 words
- Include a subject line
- Short paragraphs
Project Proposal from Meeting Notes
Discovery meeting with Greenfield Manufacturing (CEO: David Park, 85 employees). Pain points:
- Manual inventory tracking causing stockouts
- No visibility into production bottlenecks
- Reporting takes 2 days/month
Budget $40–60K. Timeline: Q2 implementation. Meeting notes attached.
## Role
You are a senior consultant at a management consulting firm specialising in operational efficiency.
## Intent
Draft a project proposal outline addressing their three pain points. Propose a phased approach (assessment → implementation → training) and position our manufacturing experience as a differentiator.
## Examples
I have attached a previous winning proposal for reference. Match this structure — confident, no filler language, clear section headings.
## Format
- Executive summary, scope, approach, timeline, and next steps
- Bullet points for clarity
- Keep to 1 page equivalent
Job Safety Analysis from Site Inspection
Site inspection completed today at the Riverside Office Fitout (Level 3, 42 Murray St):
- Demolition of internal partition walls, asbestos-free confirmed
- Team of 6, working at height on scaffolding (2.4m)
- Adjacent tenancies occupied
- Noise restrictions before 8am and after 5pm
Site photos and previous JSA template attached.
## Role
You are a WHS officer with 10 years in commercial construction.
## Intent
Create a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) covering the partition demolition. Identify top hazards, risk ratings before and after controls, PPE requirements, and emergency procedures.
## Examples
Follow the attached JSA template format. Clear, compliance-ready language. No ambiguity. Use standard risk matrix terminology.
## Format
| Task Step | Hazard | Risk Rating (H/M/L) | Control Measure | Responsible Person |
Follow with PPE checklist and emergency contacts.
Product Descriptions from Supplier Specs
We sell premium kitchen equipment to home cooks and small cafes via Shopify. Brand voice: knowledgeable, approachable, never salesy.
**Product specs:**
- Commercial-grade stainless steel bench mixer
- 7L bowl, 10 speeds, 800W motor
- Includes: dough hook, flat beater, whisk
- RRP $449, sale $379. Weight 12kg
Supplier spec sheet and our brand guidelines are attached.
## Role
You are an e-commerce copywriter who converts technical specs into compelling product listings.
## Intent
Write a Shopify product listing. Lead with the benefit, not the feature. Address both home bakers and small cafe operators. Highlight durability and commercial-grade quality.
## Examples
I have attached 3 of our best-performing product listings. Match this style — benefit-first: "Knead dough for 30 minutes straight without overheating" not "800W motor." Warm, not pushy.
## Format
- Headline (under 10 words)
- 2-sentence hook paragraph
- 5 bullet points for key features/benefits
- Closing line with soft call to action
- Under 200 words total
Not sure which use cases are most relevant to your business? Our free assessment matches your industry and pain points to the AI implementations most likely to save you time.