You’ve probably seen them all over Linkedin. The endless posts of ChatGPT prompts that promise to change your life and 10x your business. So you give them a try and surprise, surprise… the output is well..garbage. It reads just like every other generic AI generated slop article that litters the web.
So where did you go wrong?
The Problem With Generic AI Prompts
Let’s break down a typical generic AI prompt floating around the internet:
“Hey ChatGPT, act like an expert in (whatever thing) and write a blog post (or article, or social post) about [topic] for [audience]. Keep it clear, use bullet points, and stay under 1,000 words.”
Looks fine on the surface, and it will output something, but here’s why it usually results in straight, hot garbage.
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No clarity. “Write a blog post” could mean anything. The AI fills in the blanks and often plays it safe.
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No audience or purpose. If you don’t tell the AI who it’s writing for or what the point is, it creates generic content that tries to speak to everyone and no one.
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No structure. Without direction on tone, format, or what to avoid, the results won’t sound anything like you at all.
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No examples. The AI doesn’t know what “good” looks like unless you show it some examples.
When your AI prompt is generic, it has to guess. And like most guesswork the results are usually disappointing.
A Better Way to create AI Prompts
You don’t need to be an AI prompt engineer to get better results. Just focus on three things: context, constraints, and examples.
Step 1: Build a Custom GPT or Branded Assistant
If you’re using ChatGPT Plus, take the time to create a custom GPT that includes:
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Your writing samples
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Brand voice and tone guidelines
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Audience profiles
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Sample content or templates
This gives your AI assistant the context it needs to stop sounding like a robot and start sounding more like you.
Step 2: Use AI Workflows, Not Just AI Prompts
A single AI prompt might be okay for small tasks, but content that actually sounds like you requires a workflow that walk through:
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Topic discovery
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Audience and intent mapping
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Tone matching
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Clear content goals
Yes, it takes more time upfront. But once you have reusable workflows or templates, you’ll move faster and get higher-quality results with less editing.
Short on time? Here's an easy workflow to get better results from your AI prompts
Use a combination of smarter tools to help:
- Start with an AI research tool like Perplexity.
Pull in info from multiple content types: blog posts, videos, transcripts, academic sources, etc. - Curate your sources.
Identify the ones that match the topic and perspective you want to explore. - Feed those sources into NotebookLM
Summarize the information highlighting the main points you’re trying to make. - Now take that doc into ChatGPT, or Claude.
Use it as your base input. Include your brand tone and key messages to avoid default-sounding results. - Edit like a human
This is where your real value shows up. Edit the output for clarity, punch it up, and make sure it sounds like you, not like every other AI-generated article.
Treat AI Like a Junior Team Member
AI tools are powerful, but they need guidance. Your prompts are the guidance.
If you want it to reflect your voice, you have to show it your voice.
Generic prompts might feel faster at first, but they cost you more in edits, rewrites and credibility. A little clarity up front with structure AI prompts means better output in the long run. Once you have a system you can reuse your base AI prompt for future prompts so that you’re not starting from scratch every time.
Final Thought
Before you write your next prompt, pause and ask:
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Who’s this for?
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What’s the goal?
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What should it sound like?
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What would make it more useful?
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Do I have a sample that nails the vibe?
Answering those questions first gives you better Ai prompts. Better prompts lead to better results. .
Multi-disciplinary IT support strategist. At SMB Consultants I specialize in bridging the gap between complex AI technologies with your actual business needs. Through 1:1 AI Coaching and Consulting my focus is on practical understanding, and implementation of solutions that solve a problem or address a specific business need.
