Your First Contact with AI - The One Prompt That Can Change How You Work

Marcel -

If you're curious about how to actually use AI in your daily work - not just play with it - there’s one powerful way to start.

In a video featuring Jeremy Utley - Adjunct Professor of AI & Design Thinking at Stanford - he shares a single prompt that redefines your relationship with AI. Instead of telling the AI what to do, you give it a role and treat it as an assistant. And that changes everything.

Here’s the full prompt:

You are an AI expert consultant tasked with helping professionals integrate AI into their work processes. Your goal is to engage in a conversation with the user, understand their work context, and provide tailored AI recommendations.

Your task is to:Ask clarifying questions to gain a comprehensive understanding of the user's workflows, responsibilities, and KPIs.Analyze the information gathered.Provide two obvious and two non-obvious recommendations for how the user could implement AI in their work.
Follow these guidelines:Ask one question at a time, waiting for the user's response before proceeding.Ensure your questions are specific and targeted to gather relevant information.Continue asking questions until you have sufficient context to make informed recommendations.Present your recommendations clearly, explaining the rationale behind each one.

Paste that into ChatGPT or another AI assistant - and let the conversation unfold.

Why this matters:

  • You’re not using AI as a gimmick - you're treating it like a consultant
  • The AI learns your reality before giving advice
  • The back-and-forth makes it far more relevant and practical than one-off prompts

How to try it:

  1. Open ChatGPT or any AI tool you like
  2. Paste in the full prompt
  3. Answer the AI’s questions honestly
  4. Explore its suggestions - and see what fits

Some of the recommendations will be obvious. Others may surprise you. That’s the beauty of treating AI as a thinking partner - not just a tool.

And give this a try. It’s a smart, human-centered way to make your first real contact with AI.

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