Dear Reader,

Earlier this week a friend sent me a message that got me thinking.

He’d been testing out a custom GPT I built months ago called Prompto - a structured prompt builder that forces you to break down what you’re actually trying to accomplish before throwing it at an AI. He was working on a CMS selection project for a client, comparing three to four different options and weighing up the pros and cons.

He had put his initial question through ChatGPT without context or much detail and also tested it through Prompto, which is also using ChatGPT but with a custom set of instructions on how to format prompts.

“The outputs are quite similar,” he told me, “but the Prompto version is far more refined.”

Same task. Same AI model. Completely different results. The difference wasn’t the technology, it was the thinking that went into the prompt.

The “Just Figure It Out” Problem

Most people treat AI like a search engine with a personality. They type in whatever comes to mind, hope for something useful.

But here’s what I’ve learned from building automations and testing various AI tools over the past year: vague inputs create noisy outputs. When we ask AI to “just figure it out,” we’re not just delegating the task, we’re delegating our responsibility to think clearly about what we need. And this is a huge red flag on how not to use AI.

I see this constantly in my consulting work. Clients will show me AI outputs that are technically correct but completely miss the mark. Almost always, the problem isn’t the AI - it’s that nobody took time to clarify what they actually wanted.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

Using a structured approach like Prompto forces you to pause and consider:

• What are you actually trying to accomplish?
• What does good output look like for this specific task?
• What context does the AI need upfront?
• What doesn’t matter and can be left out?

This isn’t about making the AI work harder. It’s about making you think more clearly.

In my friend’s case, this meant getting proper comparisons between the CMS systems that aligned with his actual project requirements: security considerations, upgrade paths, editor usability. Instead of generic feature lists, he got analysis that directly informed his decision.

The Real Benefit

Here’s what I discovered when I started using structured prompting: it doesn’t just improve AI outputs. It improves your own thinking.

When you’re forced to articulate exactly what you need, you often realise you weren’t entirely sure yourself. The prompt-building process becomes a form of problem clarification.

I experienced this whilst building my social media automation earlier this year. Each time I refined a prompt for Claude or Perplexity, I understood my own content goals more clearly. The AI got better results because I finally knew what I was asking for.

Don’t Automate Unclear Thinking

The more capable these AI models become, the easier it is to get something that looks reasonable without putting in proper thought. But “looks reasonable” isn’t the goal - getting the right answer is.

This becomes especially important as AI integrates deeper into our workflows. We can’t afford to delegate our thinking entirely to machines, no matter how sophisticated they become.

Give It a Try

​Prompto is available at on the GPT Store for ChatGPT subscribers*. It won’t promise magic, but it will help you ask better questions.

Because ultimately, that’s what effective AI use comes down to: asking better questions so you can stop spinning your wheels on mediocre answers.

If you’re struggling with getting consistent results from AI tools in your work, I’d love to hear about it. Always up for a conversation about practical prompt engineering.

* I’m currently working on a version with even more guided structure for the public to use.

Jim

Signal Over Noise is written by Jim Christian. Subscribe at newsletter.jimchristian.net.

Ready for AI That Actually Works Together?

Stop switching between disconnected AI tools. In a 90-minute AI Action Plan Session, I'll show you how to set up the kind of orchestrated workflows I use daily - where your AI can read your files, update your systems, and execute complex tasks across all your tools. Let's design your unified AI workflow (or build a weird little thing!)

​​

Made with ❤️ in Valencia by Jim Christian. For feedback, please reach out to hello@jimchristian.net.