I first had to learn not to make AI write, but to say the task clearly
Last Wednesday meeting a client in Shanghai, I stared at a blank proposal for two hours before realizing I was stuck because I couldn't articulate the task.
If you've also been deleting and rewriting before submission, getting messier each pass — I'm not the only one. Author Allen Bargi says this is more like leading a team: the person sets direction, AI handles organizing, brainstorming, and first drafts. I got this wrong at first — I typed "help me write a proposal," then fished for sentences inside a long answer.
Now I write three things first: who it's for, what problem to solve, and who signs off at the end.
I treat AI as a collaborator who needs the brief spelled out
Give AI the goal, context, constraints, and done criteria, then ask it to question first or offer two versions. Client commitments, fact-checking, and final trade-offs still stay with the owner.
Brand consultant Lin Xiao met a client last Thursday at a café in Hangzhou's Binjiang district. She opened AI, pasted her recording notes and tone requirements, and asked it to list "known facts, questions to confirm, possible titles." Twenty minutes later she had an outline worth discussing — not a seemingly complete but unusable product.
I also got stuck in the phase of over-engineering fixed formats. Later I found: human steers, AI paves — that's more stable.
I tried it today — cost is almost nothing
Replication cost: Money — 0 to start (using free credits from an existing account). Time — 30–45 minutes. Technical barrier — no coding or software install; just copy-paste, clear requests, and reviewing the output. First step: open your usual AI chat window, paste these lines into the input box, then hit Send:
Goal: who are you solving what problem for. Context: facts and materials I know. Constraints: what I can't promise, ideal length, tone. Please list your questions first, then give me two versions.
I'll test it on a real email first — no rush to make the tool auto-repeat. Not everyone needs this method; if you only occasionally write a WeChat Moments post, or don't have stable clients yet, skipping it for now is fine.
By stage, I keep this small thing lighter
Just starting out: If you don't have stable clients yet, I'd use it to organize my self-introduction and service description first, then rewrite in my own voice.
Got 1–2 clients: If you're already delivering, I'd lock in the "context — goal — constraints — ask first" format for meeting notes, pre-quote questions, and pre-delivery checklists.
Scaling up: If you're moving from solo to small team, I'd let AI organize materials and draft, but keep commitments, privacy, and final judgment with the owner — only consider auto-repeat once repetitive tasks show up consistently.