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Brief an assistant to fill a grocery cart safely and cheaply

  • For Parents and households
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You want an AI assistant to fill this week's grocery cart from your meal plan. Write its brief: your son has a peanut allergy, so no peanut products go in the cart (ask you about a swap instead), pick the store brand when it's cheaper, show each line's math (qty x price), and never check out. Output exactly 7 numbered plain-text lines: 5 add_to_cart lines in meal-plan order, an ASK_HUMAN line, then DONE with the total as math.

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."
  • Hiding the math. The AI lists items without prices, and you can't check the total. Try: Say: "On each line, show qty x price = cost. Pick the store brand when cheaper."
  • Leaving out the allergy. The AI follows the meal plan and adds peanut sauce. Try: Add: "My son has a peanut allergy. No peanut products; ask me about a swap."
  • Letting it check out. With a saved card and slot ready, the AI places the order. Try: Add: "Never check out. End with DONE showing the total as math."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Mentions the allergy
  • Prefers the store brand
  • Asks for the math
  • Forbids checkout
  • Shows the action-log format

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