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AI hacks for work that hold up
No secret codes or tricks. These are seven plain habits that make ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Claude more useful at work. Each comes with a prompt you can copy, or a check you can do yourself.
Make the AI ask you questions first
Generic answers usually come from missing context. Instead of guessing what to add, let the AI tell you what it needs. Paste this after any request:
Before you answer, ask me up to 5 questions about anything you need to know to do this well. Ask them all at once, then wait.
Use placeholders instead of real data
Write [CLIENT], [AMOUNT] or [DATE] instead of real names and numbers, then fill them in yourself after. You keep confidential details out of the AI tool and still get a usable draft. This follow-up prompt shows the pattern:
Write a short, polite follow-up to [NAME] about [TOPIC]. I first emailed on [DATE]. Don't sound annoyed. Offer one easy way to answer (e.g. a yes/no or a 10-minute call).
Put the main ask in the first two lines
Busy people skim. Tell the AI where the ask goes and how long the message can be:
Turn these notes into a clear, friendly work email to [RECIPIENT / ROLE]. Keep it under 150 words, put the main ask in the first two lines, and end with one specific next step. Notes: [PASTE BULLETS]
Turn messy notes into decisions and action items
Ask for a fixed structure, not just "a summary", so you get owners and due dates you can paste straight into a follow-up:
Turn these raw meeting notes into: (1) a 3-sentence summary, (2) decisions made, (3) action items as a table with owner and due date, (4) open questions. [PASTE NOTES OR TRANSCRIPT]
Describe your columns, get the formula
Tell the AI which app you use and what each column holds. Then test the formula on a few rows you can check by hand before you trust it on the whole sheet.
I use [EXCEL / GOOGLE SHEETS]. My data: column A = [WHAT], B = [WHAT], C = [WHAT], rows 2 to [N]. Write a formula for [GOAL] and explain it in plain English.
Or skip the AI: 12 formulas we checked on sample data.
Check everything before you send it
AI can sound confident and still be wrong. Before you use an answer, check every name, number, date, quote and link against the source. If you can't check it, leave it out.
Follow your company's AI rules
Find out which AI tools your employer allows and what data you may paste into them. If there's no policy, ask. Most AI apps also have settings for chat history and whether your chats are used for training: look them up before you start.
Want ready-made prompts?
Start with 5 free AI shortcuts for work, or get the full 10 AI Prompts for Work PDF free.