00 / 04Concepts

Context is the job

When AI output feels generic, the model is rarely the problem.

It filled the gaps you left with the most average answer it could find. Context is how you close those gaps, and it is the biggest lever you control.

6 min
03 figures
02 links
In depth
Updated Oct 2026

Fig 01The brief: four lines on a clipboard. Fill them and the model has nothing to guess.

Inside

01The four things every request needsFigureList
02Make context permanentFigureList
03A brief you can copyCode
04Three habits that quietly ruin resultsListNote

01 / 04

The four things every request needs

Fig 02Four inputs close the gaps. Leave one out and the model fills it with the most average answer it can find.

GoalWhat this is for and who will see it. "A caption for a carousel aimed at small-business owners" beats "a caption."

MaterialThe source content: the transcript, the notes, the data, the draft.

StandardsExamples of good work, your voice, words you never use, constraints on length or format.

Definition of doneWhat a finished answer includes, so the model knows when to stop and what to check.

02 / 04

Make context permanent

Typing the same background into every chat wastes time, and the details drift.

Fig 03Where context lives so you stop retyping it: a project, an instruction file in the repo, and memory.

Projects or workspacesMost assistants let you attach reference files and standing instructions to a project. Keep one per client, show, or business.

Instruction files in code reposAGENTS.md is an open format that coding agents read before they work in a repository, and it now sits alongside MCP at the Agentic AI Foundation. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md the same way.

MemoryAssistants with memory carry preferences across conversations. Review what they store and correct it when it is wrong.

Notes

Put it where the assistant reads it automatically.

03 / 04

A brief you can copy

Text

GOAL
What this is for, who sees it, where it will live.

MATERIAL
[paste or attach the source]

STANDARDS
Voice: warm, direct, specific. No hype.
Avoid: [words or moves you never want]
Good example: [paste one you love]

DONE MEANS
[format, length, what must be included, what to double-check]

04 / 04

Three habits that quietly ruin results

Dumping everythingMore text is not more context. Irrelevant material competes with what matters.

Contradicting yourself"Keep it short" plus twelve must-haves forces the model to guess which instruction wins.

Describing instead of showingOne real example of the result you want does more than a paragraph of adjectives.

Do this today

Write a one-page "about my work" file: who you serve, what you offer, how you sound, and three examples of work you are proud of. Add it to your assistant's project and watch the first drafts change.

02 links

Resources

Every link this breakdown leans on, in one place.