Any AI tool¶

Last verified: 2026-05-06 · Drift risk: low (this page is intentionally generic)

You'll use this page if your AI app isn't ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, or Copilot — or if you don't know what you have. The method below works in almost any AI chat product.

What you need¶

An AI app you can open and type into.
A notes app (Notes, Obsidian, Google Docs, a sticky note — anything).
10 minutes.

That's it. No API key. No code. No install.

The universal method, in 10 steps¶

1. Describe the job in one sentence¶

Write down the job in plain language. One sentence. No jargon.

Example: "Help me triage my overnight email into Now / Later / Reference / Trash."

2. Ask the AI to interview you before answering¶

Most AI apps will jump straight to an answer. Stop them. Paste this as your first message:

You will help me with this task: <your one-sentence job>.

Before you answer, ask me 5 short questions to learn:
1. What good output looks like (give me 1 example).
2. What bad output looks like (1 example).
3. What format I want (length, structure, tone).
4. What I want you to NEVER do.
5. Who else might read the output.

Wait for my answers. Do NOT start answering the task until I reply.

This works in any AI chat product. It forces the AI to learn your preferences before guessing.

3. Define the output format¶

Once it has interviewed you, paste the output schema you want:

Output format:
- A bulleted list grouped by Now / Later / Reference / Trash.
- One line per item, with a short reason.
- Maximum 12 items per group.
- Plain text only. No marketing language. No emojis.

4. Give an example of good and bad output¶

Paste a small example you'd accept and one you wouldn't. AI apps copy patterns. If you don't show one, they invent.

5. Save the prompt as a reusable template¶

Before you do anything else: copy the whole conversation prompt (including the interview, the format, and the examples) into your notes app. Title it after the task. This is your reusable prompt. You'll paste it next time.

6. Maintain a portable preference profile¶

Open a new note titled My AI preferences. Write down, in plain English:

The tone and style you like (e.g., "no marketing language, sentence-case headings, no emojis").
The mistakes you want the AI to avoid (e.g., "don't invent citations").
The formats you usually want (e.g., "bulleted lists over paragraphs").
The languages and date formats you use.

This is your portable preference block. Paste it after the system prompt in any new chat, in any AI app. It'll feel like the AI remembers you, even if it doesn't.

7. Build a manual repeat-run checklist¶

Open another note titled <task name> playbook. Write 5–7 lines:

1. Open my AI app.
2. Open the saved prompt for <task name>.
3. Paste the prompt.
4. Paste the preference block.
5. Paste today's input (e.g., "here are last night's emails: …").
6. Read the output. If it's wrong, say what's wrong; let it retry once.
7. Save anything worth keeping into my notes.

This is the lowest-tech "automation" that works in any product.

8. Probe what features your app exposes¶

Look in your app's interface for any of these labels:

"Memory", "Saved info", "Custom Instructions", "Personalization", "Profile" → that's your memory rung.
"Projects", "Workspaces", "Spaces", "Gems", "Custom GPTs", "Personas", "Custom assistants" → that's your project / custom-assistant rung.
"Files", "Knowledge", "Sources", "Pinned files" → attach reference files there.
"Tasks", "Scheduled prompts", "Run on a schedule" → optional automation rung.
"Agent", "Coworker", "Browser", "Computer use" → optional agent rung. Treat with care.

If you find any of these, move your saved prompt + preference block into them. That makes them automatic next time.

9. If a feature is missing, use the nearest fallback¶

Missing feature	Nearest fallback
Memory / Custom Instructions	Paste your preference block at the start of every chat.
Projects / Workspaces / Spaces	Save the prompt + preferences in a notes app. Use a fresh chat each time.
Custom assistant	Use a long-form prompt that contains the persona; save it in notes.
Skill / packaged behavior	A saved prompt + a checklist file is the fallback.
Files / Knowledge	Paste the relevant text directly into chat. Keep PHI/PII out.
Scheduled tasks	Add the run to your calendar or a Monday checklist.
Browser / computer use	Drive the browser yourself; use the AI to draft what to type.

Your AI app being missing one or two of these isn't a problem. It being missing most of them is a signal to switch.

10. Decide whether to switch tools¶

The Mastery index has a capability matrix. If your current app is missing 3+ rungs you actually need, the next chapter covers each major product:

Claude — Projects, Skills, Artifacts, Computer use, Claude Code.
ChatGPT — Custom GPTs, Tasks, Codex.
Gemini — Gems, Workspace context, Antigravity.
Grok — consumer Grok, Grok on X, xAI API.
Perplexity — Spaces, Pages, Comet.
Coding agents — Copilot, Claude Code, Codex CLI.

Guided exercise — 10 minutes¶

Task: "Turn a vague request into a reusable prompt and project plan in whatever AI app you have."

Open the AI app you use most.
Paste this as the first message:

I want help turning a vague request into a reusable workflow.

Vague request: "Plan my Q3 in 1 page."

Before you answer:
1. Ask me 5 short questions to learn what good output looks like.
2. Wait for my answers.
3. Then propose a 5-step plan I can paste into a notes app, plus a saved prompt I can reuse next quarter.
4. Format: numbered list, 1 page max, no marketing language.

3. Answer its 5 questions. Be specific. 4. When it produces the plan and the saved prompt: copy both into your notes app. 5. Open your AI app again. Open a fresh chat. Paste your saved prompt. Confirm the AI behaves the same way.

If step 5 produces the same shape of output, you've successfully moved a one-off chat into a reusable workflow — without any developer tools.

Free / subscription / API availability¶

Almost everything in this universal method works on free tiers of every major AI app. The handful of features that may require a paid plan (memory, projects, custom assistants, scheduled tasks, agent modes) all have fallbacks listed above.

You only need an API when you outgrow the app — and most readers don't.

Level up this workflow¶

Once the universal method works for one task, ladder up:

Saved prompt → memory / custom instructions.
Memory → project / workspace / Gem / Custom GPT.
Project → custom assistant with attached files and a clear refusal block.
Custom assistant → skill / Action / Pages (where available).
Skill → scheduled task (manual-first, three clean runs before scheduling).
Scheduled task → agent / coworker / computer use (where available, in a sandbox).
Agent → developer / API (only if you outgrow the app).

If your app supports rung 4 (skills/actions), the Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini tracks cover the specifics.