How can you benefit from AI the most?

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most powerful tools available today, yet many people use it most simply, asking basic questions and getting basic answers. The real value comes when you learn how to ask better questions. AI responds to clarity, context, and structure, and when you provide those, it becomes a true partner in solving complex problems.

Imagine you are working in a hospital and need expert advice on reducing patient wait times in the emergency department. Instead of asking, “How do I reduce wait times?”, you can say:
“You are a hospital operations expert with 18 years of experience. Walk me through your reasoning step-by-step, explain what factors you’re weighing, and give me your recommendation.”
This approach doesn’t just give you an answer, it gives you insight into how an expert thinks, what trade-offs matter, and what pitfalls to avoid.

Now consider a university setting where you need to improve a student onboarding email. Instead of asking, “Can you make this better?”, try:
“Rate this email on clarity and tone. Tell me what’s stopping it from being excellent. Rewrite it to fix those issues, then critique your rewrite and improve it again.”
This iterative process helps you learn and see the progression from good to great, which is invaluable for communication teams.

AI can also help you make better decisions by showing different perspectives. Suppose a hospital is considering implementing a new AI-driven diagnostic tool. You can ask for five viewpoints: the optimist, the sceptic, the strategist, the realist, and the contrarian. Each perspective will highlight something you might miss, such as cost implications, patient safety concerns, or long-term scalability.

If you face the same type of decision repeatedly, AI can build a system for you. For example, a university IT department often evaluates learning management systems. Instead of starting from scratch each time, ask AI to create a scoring system with criteria like ease of use, integration with existing tools, cost, and security. This turns guesswork into a structured process.

Finally, before committing to a decision, you can ask AI to simulate scenarios. For instance, a hospital considering a new telemedicine platform can ask:
“Show me the best case, worst case, most likely case, and one unexpected consequence. Then map out a decision tree with reversible and permanent steps.”
This helps anticipate risks and plan for success.

To get the most out of AI, follow these simple guidelines:

• Be specific: Provide context, constraints, and desired outcomes.
• Assign roles: Ask AI to act as an expert in your domain.
• Request reasoning: Don’t just ask for answers, ask for step-by-step thinking.
• Iterate: Use AI to review, critique, and improve your work multiple times.
• Explore perspectives: Ask for different viewpoints to uncover blind spots.
• Build systems: Turn recurring decisions into structured frameworks.
• Simulate scenarios: Pressure-test ideas before committing.

When you apply these techniques, AI becomes more than a tool; it becomes a strategic partner that helps you think better, work smarter, and make decisions with confidence.