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Check an AI's commission math against your tiered plan
Practice: Catching mistakes and made-up facts. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
A chatbot told you your Q3 commission is $6,800 (8% of $85,000). Your plan pays 5% on the first $50,000 of the quarter and 8% on everything above, and clawed-back deals don't count. Write exactly 3 numbered lines: 1) countable sales, 2) tier 1, 3) tier 2, each with math, then one unnumbered last line: Commission: $X (chatbot was right or wrong). Plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving your plan. The AI accepts the chatbot's flat 8%. Try: Add: "5% on the first $50,000, 8% above that."
- Counting the clawback. The AI starts from $85,000. Try: Add: "Orchard Supply was clawed back. Don't count it."
- Not asking to see the work. If the AI just says 'wrong,' you can't take it to your manager. Try: Add a line to copy: "2. Tier 1: $50,000 x 5% = $2,500"
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 14 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in a message to your sales ops. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the tiers
- Drops the clawback
- Asks to show the math
- Asks for a verdict
- Asks for plain text
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