Brief an assistant to clean a CRM export without guessing

About this exercise

Before the quarterly import, you want an AI assistant to clean your CRM export. Write its brief: fill a blank only when another row of the export gives the answer, never invent emails or phones, flag each suspected duplicate pair to you with ASK_HUMAN instead of merging, and never delete. Output a plain-text numbered action log of at most 8 lines ending with a DONE line counting updates and questions.

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."
• Letting it merge or delete. Asked to clean data, the AI merges duplicates itself, and a wrong merge loses history you can't get back. Try: Add: "Never merge or delete. Flag each possible duplicate pair with ASK_HUMAN."
• Allowing guesses. The AI fills blanks with plausible emails like nina.park@brightwater.com. Try: Add: "Fill a blank only if another row shows the answer. Never guess emails or phones."
• No finish line. Without a done rule you can't see how much changed. Try: Say: "End with DONE: N updates, N questions."

What a strong prompt includes

• Forbids merging or deleting
• Rules out made-up data
• Flags duplicates
• Makes it ask before anything risky
• Shows the action-log format

Practice this now ↑

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