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Brief an assistant to update your portfolio without publishing
- For Freelancers and creators
- You practice Setting limits and rules
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
You want an AI assistant to add this year's projects to your portfolio site. Write its brief: leave out the Nimbus Bank project (it's under NDA, which isn't in your notes), give each project a description under 25 words and alt text under 12 words, save as a draft and ask you to review, and never publish. Output exactly 6 numbered plain-text lines: 3 add_project lines, save_draft, ASK_HUMAN, DONE.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not showing the log format. Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log. Try: Show it literally: "Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text."
- Leaving out what only you know. The notes call Nimbus your favorite, so the AI features it, breaking the NDA. Try: Add: "Leave out Nimbus Bank, it's under NDA."
- No length limits. The AI writes long case-study paragraphs and alt text that rambles. Try: Say: "Description under 20 words, alt text under 10 words."
- Letting it publish. Given publish_site, the AI pushes changes live. Try: Add: "Save as a draft, ask me to review, never publish."
What a strong prompt includes
- Leaves out the NDA project
- Limits description length
- Asks for alt text
- Forbids publishing
- Shows the action-log format
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