Give it the numbers
Don't ask for a number the chat was never shown. Pull the real figure from the source, paste it, and tell the AI to organize, compare, explain, and question those figures. Then spot-check the math. A sales total, a lab measurement, a Medicare plan cost, a phone-plan price, and a Black Friday price all work the same way.
Next step: copy the first prompt that matches your task. Fill in the brackets. Send only that.
A prompt is the message you paste. An approval gate is a stop you control. A checkpoint is a pause after one phase. School pages teach. They do not do the homework. Follow your teacher's rules.
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How do you do it?
Do the steps in order. Each line is one action, and you stop at the end of that action.
- 1 Say the hook out loud. Don't ask for a number the chat was never shown. A price, a rate, a plan cost, a lab reading, or a sales total is real after you copy it from the page, the instrument, or the report that has it.
- 2 Pull the numbers before you open the chat. Write the source and the date. Medicare plan costs come from Medicare.gov/plan-compare or the plan's notice. A phone price comes from the carrier page you have open. A Black Friday price comes from the retailer page. A sales total comes from the report you exported. A lab reading is the number you measured. If you do not have the figure yet, write the label and leave the value blank.
- 3 Paste the figures and forbid new ones. Tell the chat to organize, compare, explain, and question only those figures. Any number it cannot point to in your paste is marked NOT IN MY NUMBERS. It does not search its memory for a typical price, a usual rate, or a fair cost.
- 4 Spot-check the math, then decide. Redo one total by hand. Twelve times a premium, a sum down a column, or a difference between two prices you typed. If the chat's total adds a figure you did not type, delete the total. You still choose. The table is not advice.
Work
What prompt fits “A sales report, weak prompt versus a directed one”?
This is the before and after to show if you are explaining the lesson out loud. Hook: Don't ask for a number the chat was never shown. Weak prompt: "Write my Q3 sales report and fill in the totals." There is no export in the message, so the draft invents a quarter. The directed prompt is the box. You still redo one total on a calculator before you send it.
Do not invent a revenue number, a growth rate, a quota, or a ranking. Do not tell me the quarter was good or bad.
Source: the sales export I pulled on [date]. Use only the rows below.
[paste the rows, with customer secrets removed]
Organize a table: name, the amount I typed, and a blank column labeled What I will double-check.
Add a total only as the sum of amounts I typed. Show the addition.
If a row has no amount, write NOT IN MY NUMBERS. Do not estimate it.
Then list questions I should ask the person who owns the export. Questions only.
Then stop.School
What prompt fits “Lab data you measured, not a finished report”?
The weak version is "Write my lab report and use the correct results." That invites numbers you never measured and a conclusion you could turn in. The directed version uses the readings you wrote down. You still explain the pattern in your own words. Follow your teacher's rules.
This is for learning. Do not write anything I will turn in. Follow my teacher's rules.
Do not write my report, my conclusion, or a paragraph I could turn in.
Do not replace a measurement, and do not invent a reading I left blank.
What I measured, in the order I wrote it down:
[paste your data table]
Ask me what pattern I see. Wait for my answer.
Then tell me which part of my answer matches a number in the table, and which part does not. Quote the row.
If I did not record a value, write NOT IN MY DATA. Do not fill it with a typical result.
Then stop.Life
What prompt fits “Medicare, a phone plan, or a Black Friday price”?
The weak version is "Which Medicare plan is cheapest, which phone plan should I get, and what's a good Black Friday price?" The chat was not on Medicare.gov, on the carrier's page, or in the store. The directed version pastes the figures you copied. One shape covers all three. You still confirm Medicare doctors and drugs with the plan, and you still pay only on the retailer page.
Do not look up a price. Do not tell me which option to buy or join. This is not insurance advice and not shopping advice.
Source I had open on [date]: [Medicare.gov/plan-compare, the phone carrier's plan page, or the retailer page].
What each row is: [plan name or product name].
Numbers I copied, and only these:
[paste premium, deductible, drug estimate, monthly phone price, or the price on the retailer page]
Make a table of those numbers. Label what each column is, using my words.
Show one calculation I asked for, and no other: [premium times 12, or the difference between two prices I typed].
If a cell was blank, write NOT IN MY NUMBERS.
Then give me questions to ask the plan, the carrier, or to check on the page. Questions only. No winner.
Then stop.What mistakes should you avoid?
These are the misses that waste the result. Skip them before you send anything.
- Asking for the cheapest plan, the right rate, or a fair price with no page open.
- Letting the chat fill a blank cell so the table looks finished.
- Trusting a total you did not recompute. A sum can mix a monthly figure with a yearly one.
- Pasting a Medicare number, a Social Security number, or an account number so the chat can "look it up."
- Using a school prompt to get the lab report written. Your data is the material. The write-up is still yours.
- Treating the table as the decision. You still check the source, then you choose.
More in this section: Catch facts the AI made up · Answer only from your sources · Ask for a tool, not an answer
Practice on a real task: Compare Medicare plans with AI · Negotiate a job offer with AI · Check Black Friday shopping deals with AI · Compare two products before you buy · Get an Excel or Sheets formula · Compare health plans with AI · Understand your taxes with AI
Also on this site: Health plans · Money and bills · Shopping · Life
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Where does this come from?
These are public pages. The note after each link is what that page says, in plain words.
- OpenAI Help, “Prompt engineering best practices for ChatGPT”. OpenAI says a prompt should be clear and specific, and should provide enough context for the model to understand what you are asking. A number you paste is that context. A blank where the number should be is a guess.
- Medicare.gov, “Joining a plan”. Medicare says to compare plans at Medicare.gov/plan-compare, add the prescription drugs you take regularly for a monthly and yearly cost estimate, and review premiums, deductibles, and that estimate. It also says to ask your doctors and pharmacies if they are in network. Those figures come from Medicare.gov and from the plan. A chat does not have them until you paste them.
- Medicare.gov, “Helpful tools”. Medicare says you can enter the prescription drugs you take to get an estimate of monthly and yearly drug costs for plans in your area. The estimate is from that tool. It is not a number a chat remembers.
- Google Workspace Learning Center, “Using Google Workspace with Gemini”. Google says Gemini features may suggest inaccurate or inappropriate information, and not to rely on them as medical, legal, or financial advice. A figure the assistant typed still has to match a figure you supplied or a page you opened.
What else do people ask?
Open a question. The short answer under it is the one to use.
What does give it the numbers mean?
You copy the figure from the source that has it, paste it, and tell the chat to organize, compare, explain, and question those figures. You spot-check the math. The weak version asks the chat for a price, a rate, or a plan cost it was never shown.
Why not let the chat look up the price?
A chat can sound sure about a premium, a fare, or a sale price it does not have in front of it. OpenAI says the prompt has to give enough context. Medicare.gov says the drug-cost estimate comes from its plan comparison after you enter your drugs. The page you opened is the source. The reply is the arrangement.
What if I do not have the number yet?
Leave the cell blank and mark it NOT IN MY NUMBERS. Go get it from the export, the lab notebook, Medicare.gov/plan-compare, the carrier page, or the retailer page. Do not ask for a typical amount.
Does this pick a Medicare plan or a phone plan for me?
No. It lines up numbers you already copied. You confirm Medicare doctors, pharmacies, and drugs with the plan, 1-800-MEDICARE, or a free SHIP counselor. A phone price is real on the carrier page. This is not insurance advice and not shopping advice.
Will this do my lab report?
No. Bring the measurements you recorded. The chat can ask what pattern you see and point at a row. You write anything you turn in. Follow your teacher's rules.