FR
  • A2
  • Asking well
  • Speak
  • 5 min

Give context

Situation

The situation

What the AI needs to know to answer you well.

You run a restaurant in Nantes. A customer left a two-star review: a 40-minute wait on a Saturday night and a dish that arrived lukewarm. You want to reply with the AI’s help.

Idea 1 of 3

The AI knows nothing about you

It knows nothing about your restaurant, this customer or that Saturday night. Without context, it fills the gaps with generic phrases. Context is the information that helps it understand the situation.

Idea 2 of 3

Three questions to cover

Who are you? What happened? What do you want to achieve? One or two sentences each are enough. Paste the review too, without the customer’s name.

Idea 3 of 3

The goal changes everything

Apologise, explain, invite the customer back: say what you expect from the reply. A reply with a clear goal sounds more genuine than a stock phrase.

Example

Before and after

Avoid

Reply to this bad review.

Better

I run a family restaurant in Nantes. A customer complains about a 40-minute wait on Saturday night and a lukewarm dish: the room was full and we were one waiter short. Write a public reply that apologises without over-explaining and invites them back.

Why? The second request says who is speaking, what happened and the goal. The reply will be right on the first try.

Question 1 of 2

Why does the AI give generic replies to a vague request?

Why does the AI give generic replies to a vague request?
See the answer

Because it does not know your situation and fills the gaps Without context, the AI guesses. With the facts, it writes for your case.

Question 2 of 2

Which information does not belong in the request?

Which information does not belong in the request?
See the answer

The customer’s full name The customer’s name does not help the AI write. It is personal data: keep it to yourself.

Exercise

Your turn

Write the full request: who you are, what happened and the goal of your reply.

Ctrl + Enter to check your request.

Checklist

  • Say who you are, to do
  • Say what happened, to do
  • State the goal of the reply, to do
  • Write at least 20 words, to do

End of the lesson

Lesson complete

Key point

Say who you are, what happened and what you want to achieve.