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Learning12 Oct 2026Prompting AI

You’re prompting AI the hard way.

Most people type one line into AI, get something bland back, and decide the tool is useless. The tool isn’t the problem. AI is a guessing machine. Give it nothing and it guesses, and a guess sounds like nobody in particular.

We ran the test from the film for real: same job, same AI (Google Gemini, 12 October 2026), asked two ways.

Test 1: one line

We typedWrite a message about my price increase.
AI answered (cut for length)To help tailor this message, could you let me know a few quick details? [...] Dear [Client/Customer Name], Thank you for being a valued client of [Company Name]. We are truly grateful for your continued trust and partnership. [...] Effective [Date], the rate for [Service/Product Name] will increase to [New Price].

A form letter full of blanks. In fairness, it didn’t invent a number here; it asked. The film shows the worse case, where AI fills the gaps itself.

Test 2: a proper brief

We typedI'm Sam. I own a small tyre shop, and my customers have known me for years. Write a WhatsApp message to my customers about my prices going up. The facts: prices go up 8% from 1 November, because my suppliers put their prices up. If you don't know something, ask me, don't guess. Keep it under 50 words, warm and plain, no business talk, no emojis. Write it the way I write. Here is an old message of mine: "Hi all, Sam here. Shop's closed Monday for the public holiday, back Tuesday 7:30 as usual. Shout if you need anything before then." Give me the message only.
AI answeredHi all, Sam here. Just a heads up that my prices are going up 8% from 1 November because supplier costs went up. If you need any tyres before then, let me know.

Thirty-three words, the facts are right, and it sounds like a person who owns a shop.

The five things to tell it

  • Who is writing. Your name, your kind of business, who you’re talking to.
  • The facts. The real numbers and dates. Whatever you leave out, it has to guess.
  • Don’t guess. One line: “If you don’t know something, ask me.”
  • The shape. Where it’s going, how long, what tone.
  • An example. Paste one old message of yours and say “write it like this.”

The test before you press enter: if a new staff member couldn’t do the job from what you typed, AI can’t either. Think first, then type.

Want AI set up properly in your business?

Reed Branding builds the briefs, the saved prompts and the tools around how you already work. The call is always free.

Talk to Reed Branding →
⚠ The film is an illustration; Sam and his tyre shop are not real. The two test answers above are real; the first is cut for length.
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