I stopped asking AI for answers and started asking for frameworks — and suddenly it all clicked | Tech Radar

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I stopped asking AI for answers and started asking for frameworks — and suddenly it all clicked

I’ve been using tools like Chat GPT, Gemini and Claude every day — but this one shift made them far more useful

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It doesn't matter if you're using Chat GPT, Gemini, Deep Seek or Claude; if there’s one thing AI is more than happy to give you, it's advice. Whatever your problem is — a problem with your boss at work, how to deal with your eccentric uncle at Thanksgiving, or which fridge you should choose for your kitchen — AI loves to tell you what it thinks you should do.

It will even give you medical, legal and financial advice if you ask for it, which obviously you should take with a pinch of salt, because those decisions clearly need to be made by a professional.

The only problem is, a lot of the time, the advice doesn’t work. That’s not to say AI’s advice is bad… it's quite often very good. But one thing you’ll notice is that the process never ends. One problem soon gets replaced by another, and you’re back to talking to a chatbot at 2.00am, ruminating over your life choices when really you should be asleep.

This trick will have Chat GPT and Gemini get straight to the point

I use the 'invert' prompt to answer problems before they arise

There’s also the issue that, like an eager puppy, AI wants to please you, its owner, and when you ask it for advice, it tells you what it thinks you need to hear, not what’s good for you. It doesn’t always see the big picture.

If what you need is help with something simple and functional, like the correct wording to write an email to contest a parking fine (I’ve used it for this exact purpose this week, and it did a great job), that’s one thing, but if you’re asking Chat GPT whether you should break up with your partner, or quit your job, that’s something else entirely.

We also don’t want to become dependent on AI to solve all our problems, because research has shown that the more we do, the more we start to risk experiencing a particular type of burnout known as smoothout. What we need is AI to support us in making our own decisions, rather than make them for us, and that’s where the “framework” prompt can come in handy.

Instead of describing a problem to your chatbot and asking “What should I do?”, try adding “Don’t give me an answer, give me the framework I need to make this decision myself” to the end of your prompts. I’ve done this with numerous problems now, and it forces you to actually work through what you think and feel, and it supports you in coming to your own decision.

Quite often, the AI will give you a 10-step framework to run on your problem. It starts by asking you to define the real problem, and it goes on from there with steps specific to what you’ve asked. It can be an illuminating process.

Don’t expect the framework prompt to work for simple questions, especially ones where there’s one answer, like “Who is the President of the United States?”, but for hard questions, it’s a great option.

Try it, and I promise you that if you work through all the steps, you’ll get a much clearer picture of what you need to do, and you can reach your own conclusions without the existential guilt of having handed an important decision over to a non-human AI.

You might not get an instant answer, but you’ll end up with something more useful — a decision you actually believe in.

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Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at Tech Radar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, i More, Mac Format, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.

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Key Takeaways

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards