How do I get better answers from AI?
Overview
You get better answers when you give the AI the context it doesn't have: your situation and what a good answer looks like. Attach the files you're working from. If the answer misses, follow up, and check important facts yourself.
Give it more context
The AI only knows what you tell it. Say who you are, what you're trying to do and what a good answer looks like.
| What to type | |
|---|---|
| Vague | "Summarize these meeting notes." |
| Specific | "I'm an administrative coordinator sending a recap to a committee of eight who did not all attend. From the attached notes, write a one-page summary: decisions made, open questions, and action items with owners and due dates. Plain language, no jargon." |
- Attach your material. Upload the PDFs, Word documents, slides or spreadsheets you're working from, so the AI answers from your sources.
- Connect your apps. With a connector, Claude can pull from your email, calendar and files itself. See how to connect Claude to Microsoft 365.
- Brain-dump. Paste everything you know, even if it's messy: notes, half-formed ideas, what you've already tried. The AI can sort it out.
Keep it in a Claude Project
A Project is a workspace with its own chats, files and instructions, so every chat in it starts with that background already there. Use one for a course, a job search or any work you come back to. Anthropic is testing a new version of Projects with some personal plans; Syracuse's plan gets it later, so the steps below are what you'll see for now.
Set up a Project
In Claude, click Projects in the left sidebar, then New Project.
Name it and choose who can see it: Private (only people you invite) or Syracuse University (anyone at Syracuse can find it and chat in it).
Add your material, such as notes, slides, a syllabus or your resume, by uploading files or pasting text. A Project can hold a lot: as it fills up, Claude searches your files instead of reading them all at once.
Add instructions for how Claude should answer, for example "Explain things simply and end with a 3-question quiz."
Start a chat inside the Project. Claude uses your files and instructions every time.
Share a Project
- Can view: people can see its files and instructions and chat in it, but can't change it.
- Can edit: people can also change its files and instructions, and add or remove members.
- Who: share with specific people by email, or with everyone at Syracuse. Your own chats in it stay private unless you share them too.
- Before you share: check what you uploaded. Keep a Project Private unless you mean to share it. See what data you can put in.
Let the AI help write your prompt
Not sure how to ask? Have the AI write the prompt with you before your real question.
Try this: "As an AI expert, help me write a prompt that [what you want]."
Then brain-dump everything you know about the task, and keep refining the prompt together until it says exactly what you want. Use that prompt for the real work.
This works well for Claude Code too: work out your idea in a Claude chat first, have Claude review it, then ask Claude for a prompt to paste into Claude Code.
Narrow and refine
The first answer is a starting point. Following up is normal, and it's usually faster than rewriting your question.
| If the answer is | Try saying |
|---|---|
| Too long | "Make this shorter." |
| Too technical | "Explain that in simpler terms." |
| Off target | "Focus on the budget, not the timeline." |
| Not quite right | "Give me three different versions." |
Check what it gives you
AI can sound sure and still be wrong. Check important facts, citations and data yourself before you rely on them, especially anything you'll share or submit. For coursework, see using AI responsibly in your coursework.
Ask for sources. Add "Cite where each fact comes from" to your prompt, so you can see what each answer is based on. Gemini Notebook does this on its own.
Picking a model in Claude
A model is the AI version you choose.
| Model | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Sonnet | Most everyday work. Start here. |
| Opus | Complex work that needs careful reasoning. Uses more of your usage limit. |
| Haiku | Quick, simple tasks. Uses the least of your limit. |
| Fable¹ | Available only with a Premium seat. |
¹ Fable requires a Premium seat. See Premium seats.
Additional information
- To make your Claude usage go further, put the full context, text or data in a single message. See more about usage at checking your usage and limits.
Official links
Still need help?
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