Hey Friends,
Most people are still using AI like a slightly smarter Google. They open ChatGPT or Copilot. They type a question. They get an answer. They close it.
And the next day, they start from scratch again. There’s a better way to use it and it only takes about fifteen minutes to set up. It’s called custom instructions.
The Problem with “Generic AI”
Large language models are trained on enormous amounts of data. Some of it is excellent. Some of it is average. Some of it is… not great.
They’ve learned from academics, marketers, developers, bloggers, and random internet threads. So if you don’t guide them, the output can feel:
Robotic
Slightly off in tone
Too generic
Occasionally misleading
That’s not because AI is bad. It’s because you haven’t told it who you are.
What Customs Instructions Actually Do
Custom instructions allow you to give your AI assistant permanent context.
Instead of explaining yourself every time, you tell it once:
Who you are
What you do
What your company does
How you like to communicate
What rules it should follow
From then on, every response is shaped by that context. You stop starting from zero. And that’s when AI starts to feel less like a tool and more like an assistant.
Why This Matters in Real Life
When you personalise your assistant properly, three things happen:
1. The Tone Improves: It stops sounding like it was written by a robot for another robot.
2. The Quality Increases: Because it understands your role and industry, the advice becomes more relevant and practical.
3. Your Prompts Get Shorter: You don’t need to re-explain your background every time.
That alone can save hours across a month.
How to Set It Up (Simple Framework)
In ChatGPT: Settings → Personalisation → Custom Instructions
In Microsoft Copilot: Three dots → Settings → Personalisation
Then structure it clearly using headings like this.
#Role
Give it a clear identity.
For example: “You are a personal AI assistant to Aamir Qutub, CEO of Enterprise Monkey.”
Add context about what that assistant is responsible for. Strategy? Communication? Operations? Clarity here improves everything downstream.
#AboutMe
Explain what you actually do.
You can copy parts of your job description, your KPIs, your responsibilities, etc.
The more context it has about your real day-to-day role, the more useful it becomes.
#AboutCompany
Provide a short description of your organisation.
If you’re implementing AI across a team, create one standard company description that everyone can use. That keeps outputs aligned and consistent.
#Tone
Be specific.
For example: “Use casual Australian business tone.” | “Keep internal responses concise.” | “For external emails, be formal and factual.”
Vague instructions lead to vague outputs.
Specific direction creates consistent communication.
#Guardrails
This is critical.
Here you define behavioural rules.
For example: Fact-check where possible, Provide a confidence level if unsure, Ask follow-up questions if unclear, Use UK English, Use hyphens or commas instead of em dashes
And here’s something subtle but important. AI struggles with negative instructions. If you say: “Don’t use em dashes.” It often still uses them. Instead, redirect:
“Use hyphens or commas instead of em dashes.”
Just like guiding a child, telling it what to do works better than telling it what not to do.
Optional: #Examples
You can include:
Sample emails you’ve written
A paragraph that reflects your writing style
Over time, it will also learn from your ongoing conversations. But this gives it a strong starting point.
Where This Changes Your Day
When done properly, your assistant:
Understands your priorities
Matches your communication style
Aligns with your organisation
Reduces rewriting
You spend less time correcting tone. Less time re-explaining context. Less time rewriting drafts. And more time thinking.
If you haven’t set up custom instructions yet, block fifteen minutes this week. It’s one of the highest-leverage AI actions you can take. Small effort. Compounding return.
See you in the next one.
— Aamir
📲 Resources & Links
🎧 Listen to the Podcast Episode 1 on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
📘 Book: The CEO Who Mocked AI (Until It Made Him Millions) by Aamir Qutub