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Brief an assistant to build a supply order within budget

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You run a small bakery and want an AI assistant to prepare this week's supply order. Write its brief: bring each item up to par, show each line's math, use the newest prices, and keep the cart at or under $600 by dropping the lowest-priority item if needed. It must never place the order: it ends with an ASK_HUMAN line asking you to approve, then a DONE line with the cart total, as a plain-text numbered log of at most 7 lines.

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."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs long, especially when it explains each step. Try: Cap each line instead: "each line under 20 words, no explanations."
  • Hiding the math. The AI states a total you can't check, and errors stay hidden. Try: Say: "On each cart line, show qty x price = cost."
  • No budget or price rule. The AI uses the price in the table and ignores both the newer email and your budget. Try: Add: "Use the newest price. Stay at or under $600; drop the lowest priority item first."
  • Letting it order. Given a place_order action, the AI finishes the job by spending your money. Try: Add: "Never call place_order. End with ASK_HUMAN for approval, then DONE with the total."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Sets the budget
  • Asks for the math
  • Uses the newest price
  • Makes it ask before anything risky
  • Shows the action-log format

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