How to ask AI for help when you don't know what to ask

Most people try AI once, get something bland, and decide it isn't for them. The problem is almost never the AI. It's that it knows nothing about you, so it gives you the average answer for everyone. The fix takes thirty seconds.

The three-part ask

1. Who you are. Your business, where you are, who your customers are.
2. What you're trying to do. The actual job, and why.
3. What good looks like. Length, tone, what to avoid, an example if you have one.

Instead of: "Write a Facebook post about my business."

Try: "I'm a self-employed electrician on the NSW Central Coast. Most of my work is switchboard upgrades for older homes. Write three short Facebook posts that explain why an old switchboard is a safety risk, in plain Australian English, friendly not salesy, no more than three hashtags, each ending with a question people might answer in the comments."

Same tool, completely different result.

When you don't know what you need: let it interview you

This is the one to use when you can't even name the problem. Copy it, paste it into any AI assistant, and answer honestly:

I run a small business and I'm not sure what I need help with. Interview me, one question at a time, about my business, my customers and what's frustrating me at the moment. After about ten questions, tell me the three changes that would make the biggest difference, and which tools or next steps would help with each, in plain English.

More prompts to copy

Explain [the term] to me as if I've never run a website. Then tell me whether a business like mine actually needs it.

What should I search for to learn about [my problem]? Give me the exact search words to use, and what each search will turn up.

Here are my rough notes from a client call. Turn them into a clear quote: what's included, what isn't, and the next step.

Ask me five questions about my business, then write my "About" page in my own voice. Keep it under 250 words.

Compare [tool A] and [tool B] for a one-person [type of business]. Tell me what you're unsure about, and what I should check on their websites before buying.

The second message matters most

Treat the first answer as a draft and keep talking to it:

• "Make it shorter, and more like how I talk."
• "Give me three different versions."
• "What did you assume about my business? Ask me instead."
• "What would a sceptical customer think reading this?"

Stop repeating yourself

Most assistants let you save your business details once so every chat starts from them: Projects in Claude, custom GPTs and Projects in ChatGPT, Gems in Gemini. Put in a paragraph about your business, your customers, your prices, and a few examples of how you write.