AI isn’t magic. It’s not malicious. It’s not even confused.
It’s a tool — and like any tool, what you get out of it depends on how you use it.
Two recent takes — Linda Ruth’s Stop Arguing with AI: Prompting for Power in the Publishing World and Kelvin Chan’s AP piece One Tech Tip: Get the most out of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots with better prompts — arrive at the same destination from different roads. One speaks to editors and publishers; the other to everyday AI users. But the core message is identical: the quality of your AI output starts and ends with the quality of your input. (Hat tip to the always-essential BoSacks newsletter where I first spotted both articles.)
From the Newsroom to Your Laptop: Same Rule, Different Context
Ruth frames AI as part of a publishing professional’s toolkit — right up there with headline writing and layout design. If you ask a model for feedback on a manuscript without providing the manuscript, expect nonsense in return. It’s like asking a book reviewer to critique a novel they haven’t read.
Chan’s advice mirrors this in broader strokes: skip vague prompts, give clear goals, and feed the model context and constraints. Add personas to shape tone, specify your audience, and don’t be afraid to iterate. The first prompt is rarely the last.
The Practitioner’s Mindset
Whether you’re an editor, marketer, small business owner, or teacher, three habits will instantly improve your AI game:
- Provide context — the more background you give, the better the results.
- Set constraints — word count, format, style — so you get something usable.
- Iterate — treat AI as a collaborator, not a vending machine.
Think of AI as a “brilliant but distractible employee”: give it structure, keep it focused, and check its work.
The Bigger Picture
The skeptic will say this is common sense — ask better questions, get better answers — and they’re right. But prompt literacy is becoming a baseline skill, much like search literacy was twenty years ago. The contrarian might argue AI should adapt to us, not the other way around. The systems thinker sees a familiar pattern: early adopters learn the machine’s language, then the tools evolve until the complexity disappears behind the scenes.
Until that happens, prompt engineering is the bridge between what AI can do and what it will actually do for you.
Turn questions into results. Don’t just wonder what AI can do — start guiding it. Download my free, printable AI Prompt Quick Guide for proven prompt formulas you can use today.
Action Steps You Can Use Today
- Create a personal or team prompt library for recurring tasks.
- Refine in conversation — don’t settle for the first draft.
- Experiment with personas and audiences to see how the output shifts.
- Always verify — a polished answer can still be wrong.
In short: Master the prompt, master the tool — and in mastering the tool, you expand your reach.