💡 Why Your AI Outputs Are Mediocre (And How to Fix It in One Step)

Let's talk about something that's costing you massive amounts of time: bad prompts.

Most people use AI tools like they're talking to a search engine. Short, vague requests. "Write me a blog post about productivity." "Help me with my marketing strategy." "Create a social media caption."

Then they get generic, unusable outputs and think "AI isn't that helpful" when really, the problem was the input, not the tool.

Here's the truth: AI is only as good as the context you give it.

The mistake everyone makes:

They treat AI like it can read their mind. They assume it knows their business, their audience, their voice, their goals. It doesn't.

Every time you open a new chat without providing context, you're starting from zero. The AI has no idea who you are, what you're trying to achieve, or what good output looks like for you.

It's like hiring someone to help with your business but never explaining what you do, who your customers are, or what success looks like. Then being surprised when their work misses the mark.

Here's what changes everything:

Before you ask AI to do anything, give it context. Real, specific context about what you're trying to achieve and why it matters.

Bad prompt: "Write an email to my list promoting my new course."

Better prompt: "I'm launching a course teaching small business owners how to streamline their operations using AI tools. My audience is typically overwhelmed by tech and skeptical of hype. They trust me because I focus on practical, immediately useful advice without jargon. Write an email that announces the course by focusing on one specific problem it solves: the 4 hours per week they waste on repetitive admin tasks. Use a conversational tone, include a specific example, and end with a soft call to action to join a free workshop where they can see the course approach in action."

See the difference?

The better prompt includes: Who the audience is and what they care about What the goal is and why it matters Specific constraints or requirements The desired tone and style What success looks like

Example in practice:

A solopreneur was trying to use ChatGPT to help with client proposals. Getting frustrated because every output was generic and unusable.

Their original prompt: "Write a proposal for a marketing client."

Their improved prompt: "I'm a marketing consultant specializing in helping B2B service companies build authority through content. I'm creating a proposal for a financial advisory firm that wants to attract more high-net-worth clients. They've tried social media ads but gotten poor results. They're skeptical of content marketing but open to trying it. Create a proposal that acknowledges their past frustrations with marketing, explains why content marketing works differently than ads for building trust with high-value clients, outlines a 90-day pilot program focused on LinkedIn thought leadership, includes specific deliverables, and positions this as a low-risk test rather than a major commitment. Use professional but warm language that builds confidence without overpromising."

The difference in output quality was night and day. The second version gave them a proposal draft they could actually use with minor tweaks instead of starting from scratch.

Why this matters more than you think:

Every time you give AI a vague prompt and get a mediocre result, you waste time in three ways:

You spend time writing the prompt You spend time reviewing the bad output You spend time either rewriting it yourself or going back to create a better prompt

If you'd invested 60 extra seconds upfront providing context, you could have gotten a usable result the first time.

Here's the framework:

Every time you ask AI to do something, include:

WHO: Who is this for? What do they care about?

WHAT: What specifically are you trying to achieve?

WHY: Why does this matter? What problem does it solve?

HOW: What tone, style, or format works best?

CONSTRAINTS: What should it avoid or include?

You don't need to write a novel. But those five pieces of context will dramatically improve your results.

What's wild:

Once you start providing context consistently, you'll notice AI outputs that actually sound like you. That reflect your perspective. That require minimal editing.

Because you're finally giving the tool what it needs to be helpful instead of expecting it to guess.

The power move:

Create a "context document" for your business that you can copy and paste into new AI chats. Include:

What you do and who you serve What makes your approach different What your audience cares about What your voice and tone sound like What outcomes you're trying to drive

Store this somewhere easy to access. Every time you start a new AI conversation, paste it in first. Then ask your specific question.

Watch how much better your outputs become.

Your turn: Think about the last time you used AI and got a mediocre result. Was the issue the tool, or was it that you didn't give it enough context to understand what you actually needed? Drop your thoughts below.

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