Why AI gives generic results and how a briefing document fixes it

Executive overview

AI gives generic responses when it lacks context about who you are and what you're working on. The fix is a briefing document — a single file capturing your role, stakeholders, and working context that you upload to every new chat.

Creating one takes 15 minutes. Let AI interview you by voice instead of writing it yourself.

The biggest AI mistake is not giving it enough context — not bad prompts.

What a briefing document contains

• Your role, responsibilities, and how you work
• Key stakeholders and relationships
• Products, clients, or projects relevant to your work
• Organisational context

How to create one without writing it yourself

• Use the advanced voice mode (the squiggle button in ChatGPT)
• Paste this prompt: "Run a short adaptive interview that captures only what matters about my role, context, stakeholders, and how I work, then produce a single structured briefing."
• The interview takes 15–20 minutes over a cup of coffee
• Add anything important that AI doesn't ask about

When to create a new briefing document

• One core document for your role and organisation
• A separate document for each major project
• Any area of work that justifies persistent context

How to use briefing documents

• Upload manually to each new chat thread as needed
• Or load into a project or custom GPT so it's always pre-loaded
• If stored in a project, update it when the project changes — stale context gives stale results
• Keep a master folder of all briefing documents for easy access