Try it yourself · 23 templates
Choose one task. Copy its template into your chat. It will ask for the details it needs.
New on 8 November: three templates for this issue.
First editorial versions · not yet tested across models. Review the answers; remove sensitive details before pasting anything.
Summarise only the email excerpt below. State the latest confirmed delivery time and the original sentence that supports it. Separate confirmed details, suggestions and open questions. Flag contradictions. Insert the excerpt you are allowed to share here.
Organise the following note into two lists: confirmed details and open questions. Preserve names, times and uncertainty. Add no missing information. Insert your own note here.
For Gemini accounts with scheduled actions available. Replace Berlin with your location and check the created task under Scheduled.
Give me a short weather summary for Berlin every Monday at 7 a.m. Include the source and when the forecast was issued. Show me the summary in the chat.
New · 1 November
For a practice problem where you keep getting stuck.
Ask me for a practice problem, my working and an answer key if available. Wait for my answers. Compare the steps and identify the first point where my approach no longer fits the problem. If you find no mistake, say so and do not invent one. Give only a hint first and wait for my next attempt. Reveal the full solution only if I explicitly ask. If there is no reliable answer key, label your own assessment as provisional. Once we have resolved the issue, suggest a similar short problem without solving it immediately.
Check: Check the disputed step against your learning material. AI can wrongly reject a correct approach.
New · 1 November
One manageable learning session instead of a huge study plan.
Ask about my topic, learning goal, prior knowledge and a short extract from my learning material. Wait for my answers. Plan one 15-minute session: recall, work through a task, explain it myself. Give estimated times that total no more than 15 minutes. Then start with only the first question and wait. Do not provide answers before my attempt. End with a question I can answer tomorrow without the chat. Stay within the supplied material and flag gaps.
Check: Timing is an estimate. Set your own timer and check what you remember tomorrow.
Practise recalling a short learning text.
Help me practise a learning text. First ask for the text and my level. Then ask exactly one question about it and wait for my answer. Do not reveal the answer first. Afterwards, give brief feedback with the relevant passage from the text. If I get stuck, offer just one hint and let me try again. If I ask for the answer, remind me of this agreement once. If I ask again, give it with the relevant passage. After five questions, name two points I should explain again without the chat. Do not invent material absent from the text.
Check: Does the feedback match the text? A prompt cannot guarantee that the answer will be withheld. Explain the two named points later without the chat.
For a short text conversation, for example in a café.
Practise an everyday conversation with me in another language. First ask which language, my level and the situation. Take the other role and begin with a short sentence. Always wait for my reply. Stay at my level. After each reply, correct at most one mistake that affects understanding, show the correct form, then continue the conversation. If I write “help”, give a small hint in English. After six exchanges, show me three useful expressions from our conversation with English translations.
Check: This text exercise does not assess pronunciation. Look up unclear expressions when needed.
You explain first; the AI follows up.
I want to check whether I can explain a topic myself. First ask for a short source text, then for my explanation in my own words. Do not give me a model explanation beforehand. Compare my explanation with the source: what is accurate, what is missing, and what contradicts it? Identify the relevant passage. Then ask exactly one follow-up question about the main gap and wait for my answer. If I use an analogy, also check where it breaks down. If the source itself is unclear, say so rather than filling it out with guesses.
Check: The source can be wrong too. The main check here is whether your explanation matches it.
When similar terms get mixed up.
Help me distinguish two concepts. Ask for the terms, the subject area, my prior knowledge and any learning material. Then briefly explain what they share and their key difference. Give one simple example of each, clearly labelled as invented, and, where meaningful, one borderline case. If no meaningful borderline case exists, say so. Use my learning material if I provide it, and identify any additional explanations. Finish with a small classification question and wait for my answer before revealing the solution.
Check: Not every pair of concepts divides neatly into two groups. Pay particular attention to the borderline case; without your own material, look up definitions in a textbook or your notes.
New · 1 November
Define the result before the AI starts work.
Help me formulate a clear AI task. Ask for my starting material, audience, desired result and what must remain unchanged. Also ask how I will recognise a useful result. Wait for my answers. Turn them into a short task I can copy, containing exactly those details. Flag missing information instead of inventing it. Do not carry out the task yet or suggest extra deliverables.
Check: Do the goal and success criterion match? “Sounds better” is harder to check than a specific reader question.
New · 1 November
For a reading group, community activity or a new way of working.
Ask about my idea, who it is for and how much time and money I can spend on a trial. Wait for my answers. Then list three important assumptions, marking those supported by what I supplied. Choose the least certain assumption on which the project substantially depends. Suggest a small trial within my limits: what I do, what I observe and what result would count against the idea. Do not invent demand or positive feedback. Do not contact anyone or book anything.
Check: A small trial provides clues, not proof of success. Consider who it does not reach.
New · 1 November
Keep a small task from turning into an endless side project.
Ask about the task, its purpose, deadline and existing result. Wait for my answers. Formulate at most four checkable criteria for “finished”. Separate necessary corrections from optional extras. Assess the existing result only against these criteria and flag anything you cannot judge. If all criteria are met, say so and end without new improvement suggestions. If information is missing, ask instead of adding requirements yourself.
Check: You decide what is necessary. Check whether AI has accidentally made an extra compulsory.
Make writing clearer while preserving your meaning.
Help me make a text easier to understand. First ask for the text, its audience and my preferred length. Change only what improves understanding. Preserve facts, qualifications, the main point and my tone. Add no new claims. If anything is ambiguous, ask up to three questions before revising and wait for my replies rather than deciding its meaning yourself. Once this is clear, give the revised version first. Then show at most three important changes with a brief before-and-after comparison and one sentence explaining each.
Check: Have numbers, names, qualifications and your actual point been preserved?
Make sense of meeting notes.
Ask me for my meeting notes. Create three separate lists: explicitly agreed tasks, open questions and suggestions only. For each task, state what must be done, who is explicitly responsible and what deadline is explicitly given. Add a short supporting excerpt from the notes. Quote deadlines as written; do not convert phrases like “next week” into dates. Mark missing owners or deadlines as “not specified”. Do not turn “could” or “we should” into commitments. Identify contradictions and finish with at most three clarification questions. Do not send anything or carry out tasks.
Check: Every task needs support in the notes. Remove confidential details first.
Turn a topic into a workable speaking outline.
Help me outline a short talk. First ask about the topic, audience, occasion, speaking time and main message. Ask for the facts or examples I may use. Then create an outline with a simple opening, at most three main points, transitions and a clear ending. Suggest time allocations that add up to no more than the available speaking time. Invent no numbers, experiences or quotations. Flag missing evidence. Provide the outline only, not slides or a fully written script.
Check: The times are estimates. Read a section aloud to gauge your own pace.
New · 1 November
A simple idea for ingredients already in the kitchen.
Ask about available ingredients and quantities, number of people, time, equipment and ingredients to exclude. Wait for my answers. Suggest two simple dishes using as much of that as possible. Separate available ingredients from required purchases and label estimated quantities. Do not assume pantry items I have not mentioned. Ask which dish I want, then write the steps. Do not judge remotely whether food is still safe to eat.
Check: Check food condition, packaging instructions and excluded ingredients yourself. Quantities are not dietary advice.
New · 1 November
For a household, a celebration or a small group.
Ask for tasks, estimated durations, fixed deadlines and each person’s explicitly stated availability. Ask me to use roles or invented names for the people involved, and use exactly those labels. Also ask which preferences or constraints have already been discussed. After my answer, propose an allocation that takes available time into account. Show the estimated total per person and any unassigned tasks. Do not invent commitments. Label everything as a proposal for discussion, not an agreed allocation.
Check: Equal time does not automatically mean a fair workload. Everyone needs a chance to agree.
New · 1 November
When the manual sounds harder than the task.
Ask for the relevant manual extract, the exact device or product and my goal. Wait for my answers. Then restate only the relevant steps from that text in plain English. Preserve order, warnings, prerequisites and exact values. For each step, briefly quote the matching passage from the supplied text; do not invent page or section numbers. Do not invent missing buttons or functions. If information conflicts or is missing, stop and specify what I need to check in the original manual.
Check: Compare the steps with the original. Simplified chat instructions are not enough for hazardous work.
Fit tasks around fixed commitments.
Help me create a realistic day plan. First ask about fixed appointments, available time, travel, tasks and at most three priorities. Ask for approximate durations; where I give none, estimate them and label the estimates. Include visible breaks and buffers, and leave some time unplanned. Do not move fixed appointments. If everything will not fit, say what needs postponing rather than silently shortening tasks. Provide a schedule and a short “not scheduled today” list. Do not add anything to a calendar.
Check: Do travel, breaks and estimated durations fit your actual day?
Plan a game for a children’s birthday party.
Help me plan a treasure hunt for a children’s birthday party. First ask about age, reading ability, number of children, duration, permitted rooms or areas, available materials and adult supervision. Use only places I explicitly name. Plan five stations with simple riddles, answers and a hint for the supervising adult. Do not place stations near roads, water, power sockets or anywhere requiring climbing. Use available items for the treasure. Match the riddles to reading ability; describe simple picture clues for children who cannot read yet. No small parts in the treasure for children under three.
Check: Check every hiding place and riddle yourself first. The chat does not know your surroundings.
Turn characters and wishes into a short story.
Help me create a short bedtime story. First ask about the child’s age, desired characters, a theme, things to avoid and approximate reading time. Invented names are enough; do not ask for personal information. Then write an age-appropriate story with a small, harmless problem, a kind solution and a calm ending. Include no frightening twist or cliffhanger. After I have answered, return only the title and story.
Check: Read it yourself before reading it aloud. “Gentle” does not promise a particular effect on a child. The reading time is an estimate.
New · 1 November
A storyboard with location changes, dialogue and a punchline.
Ask about the characters, starting situation, audience and tone. Wait for my answer. Then draft a six-scene comic storyboard: opening, trigger, first attempt, surprise, resolution and punchline. For each scene describe location, framing, visible action and at most two short speech balloons. Use at least three locations and briefly explain each transition. Keep characters’ appearance and knowledge consistent. Clearly mark flashbacks or imagined events. Produce only the storyboard first, not images.
Check: Can readers follow the action without explanatory narration? Check that transitions and speakers are clear.
New · 1 November
Turn a vague idea into a useful image brief.
Ask about the image’s purpose, subject, mood, format and important details. Also ask what must not appear and whether space is needed for text to be added later. Wait for my answers. Turn them into a compact image brief with a clear foreground and background and, only if requested, an empty text area. Do not add unrequested subjects. Separate essential features from optional style preferences. Produce only the brief first.
Check: Check important details in the eventual image. Adding lettering afterwards can be more reliable.