Why ChatGPT Gives You Generic Answers: 10 Rules for Using AI Effectively
Updated: 3 days ago
ChatGPT gives generic answers when it doesn't know your business, your numbers or your goal. The fix is simple: write the task in five parts, introduce your business once in a Project, and check every answer that matters.
These rules work in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini alike. In our course groups we often see the same person go from "useless" answers to answers they can act on within a week. The tool stays the same; only the task changes.
Why does ChatGPT give generic answers?
AI knows only what you tell it. Ask "How do I grow sales?" and it answers for an average business, guessing the rest. The answer isn't wrong. It would simply fit any other business just as well.
A quick test: if the answer would work equally well for the shop next door, the AI doesn't know your business. Context is missing.
The three usual causes:
The question doesn't say what business you run or what is happening right now.
Your material is missing: numbers, prices, customer questions.
The goal is missing: what decision the answer is for.
How do I introduce my business to AI?
AI needs two kinds of context. One is permanent and written once; the other is new for every task.
Business brief (permanent context): what you sell, to whom, where and at what price, who your customers are, which channels you sell through, key numbers. Write it once as a file in a Project and update it rarely.
Task context: what is happening with this issue now, what you tried and what happened, your constraints (budget, deadline, people). Write it at the top of each new chat.
For a neighbourhood bakery, the brief says: "Neighbourhood bakery, 2 staff, mostly local residents, busiest mornings and evenings." The task context says: "Winter sales drop. Last year we tried a discount and it didn't work. I can't spend more than 500 GEL a month."
A Project is a kind of folder inside the AI. It holds your brief, files and working rules, and the AI reads them in every new chat, so you stop re-explaining your business. If you run a business in Georgia, you can start with our free business brief (in Georgian, about 10 minutes).
Tip: the bigger the decision, the more context it needs. A quick post or email needs 2-3 sentences. Pricing, a new product or a season plan needs the full picture. Leave out anything unrelated: extra information distracts the AI.
Write the task in five parts
Put these five parts in one message, in this order. Long material (a table, text, a file) goes in the middle; the question and answer format go last.
Business and situation: your business in 1-2 sentences and what is happening now.
Material: your numbers, prices, customer questions, files. The AI has never seen them.
Goal and question: what result you want and what decision it supports.
Answer format: table, list, length. "Short" means different things to different people; "a 3-column table, max 5 rows" doesn't.
Questions first: ask it to question you before answering and not to make anything up.
A template to copy and fill in:
My business and situation: ...
Material: ...
Goal: I want to decide ...
Question: ...
Give me the answer as: ...
Before you answer, ask me 3-5 questions. If data is missing, don't make it up, ask me.10 rules for working with AI
One business, one Project. Keep your brief and working rules in a Project. In ChatGPT you can limit a new Project's memory to that Project so topics don't mix.
One task, one chat. Quality drops in long chats. New topic? Open a new chat and carry over only a short summary and the latest version.
Result first, method second. Say what you want, what decision it's for, and how you'll know the answer is good.
Your context beats an "expert role". "Pretend you're an expert" adds no knowledge. Your numbers, customers, prices and constraints do.
Tell it when to stop. "Before you answer, ask me 3-5 questions. If data is missing, ask first." This one sentence changes answers a lot.
Make the format countable. Give columns, rows or word counts instead of "short" or "detailed".
Use a thinking mode for hard tasks. In ChatGPT choose Thinking; in Claude open the model menu and turn on Thinking or raise Effort. You no longer need to write "think step by step".
Every number needs an address. An outside number needs a source, a year and a link. Without one it is an assumption, not a fact.
AI agreeing with you is not evidence. A second AI looks for weak spots; you check the facts with a source, your own data or a small test.
Protect first, upload second. Before uploading business data, turn off model training on your chats and never paste customers' personal details.
How do I check an AI answer?
AI writes confidently even when it is making things up. Every important answer needs three checks.
1. Sources. Anything that doesn't come from you (market size, prices, trends) needs a source. Open the link yourself and see whether it really says that.
Add a source, year and link to every number. Where you have no source, write "assumption".2. A second AI as critic. Show important answers to a second AI: ChatGPT's answer to Claude or Gemini, or the other way round. Give the criteria first, then ask for critique.
Evaluate this plan on three criteria: how realistic it is on my budget, how soon results show, what risks it carries. Find 3 weak spots. If you disagree, say so and explain why.3. Your own check. The last word is yours. Check against your data, a conversation with a customer or a small test. To learn why customers choose you, ask customers, not the AI.
The full path, on one example, is in How to use AI for business decisions.
Protect first, upload second
Before you upload prices, sales or customer questions:
Turn off training on your chats. In ChatGPT: Settings › Data controls › Improve the model for everyone. In Claude: Settings › Privacy › Help improve our AI models.
Never paste a customer's or employee's name, phone, ID number or bank details. Use codes for customers (C-001) and roles for staff ("sales manager").
Step by step with screenshots: ChatGPT and Claude privacy settings.
AI organises, suggests and criticises. You make the decision. If you run a business in Georgia and want to apply these rules with business methods, see our AI course for business (in Georgian). New to ChatGPT? Start with how to use ChatGPT for beginners.
FAQ
Do I need to write in English for better answers?
No. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini handle many languages well, including Georgian. Context matters far more than language: your business, your material and your goal.
What is a business brief and where do I keep it?
A short description of your business: what you sell, to whom, where and at what price. Save it as a file in a Project so the AI reads it in every chat.
What should I do if I don't like the answer?
Before rewriting the question, check what the task was missing: context, material, goal or format. Add it, and ask the AI to ask you questions first.
Do I need a paid plan?
Most of these rules work on free plans. Paid plans give you more messages, more thinking options and higher file limits, which helps with harder business tasks.
Sources
About the author
Niko Tevdorashvili, founder of Azrioni. 17+ years leading marketing teams, 100+ projects across 15+ sectors, from banking to tourism. AI has been part of all his consulting and training programs for the past 4 years.
Want help fitting AI to your business? Write to info@azrioni.ai. Our courses are taught in Georgian.
Updated: October 18, 2026.
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