Skip to main content

Refining with AI

📖 Lesson content

What you'll learn

Estimated time: 30 minutes

By the end of this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Use Description skills to craft effective prompts that direct AI to gather and synthesize information relevant to your small business
  • Use Discernment skills to evaluate AI-generated research for accuracy, relevance, and appropriateness before acting on it

The Description-Discernment Loop

(7 minutes)

Mak, CEO of MAKS Enterprises TIPM Rebuilders, demonstrates the Description-Discernment loop — showing how he worked with AI using his domain expertise and judgment.

The Description ↔ Discernment loop

Fluent AI use happens in a tight loop: you describe what you want, the model responds, you discern what's useful, and you describe again—sharper this time. Delegation sets the stage; diligence closes it.

DelegationDecide what's worth handing to AI in the first place.

DiligenceVerify, attribute, and own the final product.

DescriptionCommunicate the vision so the model can act on it.

DiscernmentJudge what came back—and feed that judgment forward.

Tell it what good
looks like.

Clear, specific, well-structured prompting that translates a creative vision into terms the model can act on.

Prompt →

Iterate

The Loop

← Refine

Judge what
came back.

Critical evaluation of the output—quality, relevance, bias—and of the collaboration itself, so the next prompt is sharper.

Key takeaways

  • Effective Description provides context: explain what your business does, what you're trying to accomplish, and what you specifically need to know.
  • Discernment isn't optional: flag specific claims — regulations, pricing data, deadlines — for verification against primary sources.
  • The loop is iterative: use what you learn from each response to refine your next prompt.
  • AI accelerates research but doesn't replace expertise: you're still the decision-maker applying your own business judgment.

Exercise

Exercise 1: Policy and legislation tracking

Practice using Description and Discernment to research regulations, compliance requirements, or industry trends relevant to your small business.

Part I: Self-Reflection

Choose a regulatory or industry area relevant to your business (local zoning laws, licensing requirements, tax changes, labor regulations, industry-specific compliance, etc.) and identify:

  • The specific regulation, policy, or trend you want to understand
  • Your business context — what you sell or provide, where you operate, who your customers are, and why this topic matters to your operations
  • What you need to know — impact on your business model, compliance steps, deadlines, cost implications, or competitive considerations
  • Time frame or geographic scope — local, state, or federal? Recent changes in the past year?

Part II: Collaboration

Using the context you identified above, craft a detailed prompt and share it with AI. Then review the response and apply Discernment:

  • Identify at least two claims that need verification against official sources (government websites, regulatory bodies, industry associations)
  • Note any missing perspectives — for example, did it address how the regulation affects businesses of your size specifically?
  • Flag any information that seems outdated, overly general, or that conflates rules from different jurisdictions

Part III: Reflection

Did your initial prompt give AI enough context to be useful? What would you revise for a second attempt? What verification steps would you take before relying on this information to make a business decision?

Stretch goal: Ask AI to track down the original source for one key regulatory claim in its summary — a specific fee, deadline, or threshold — and then go verify it yourself. Compare how accurately the AI represented the source.

Exercise 2: Market research and competitive analysis

Apply Description and Discernment to competitive and market research — a high-stakes area where accuracy and recency matter enormously for your business decisions.

Part I: Self-Reflection

Choose a market research focus (a new product or service line, your competitive landscape, a new customer segment, or a potential partnership) and identify:

  • Your business's core offering and what makes it distinctive in your market
  • Your business characteristics — size, revenue range, geographic area, target customer profile
  • The specific question you're trying to answer — e.g., "Is there demand for a subscription version of my product?" or "Who are the top five competitors in my area and how do they price?"
  • What would make this research actionable — what information would actually change a decision you're facing?

Part II: Collaboration

Craft your prompt using the context above and share it with AI. Then review the response and apply Discernment:

  • Check whether the competitors, market data, or trends mentioned are real and current — AI sometimes fabricates business names or cites outdated statistics
  • Verify any specific numbers (market size estimates, pricing benchmarks, growth percentages) by looking for the original source
  • Identify any outdated information, such as businesses that may have closed or trends that have shifted
  • Note whether the analysis is truly relevant to a business of your size and type, or geared toward much larger companies

Part III: Reflection

Did AI understand the nuances of your specific market, or default to broad industry generalizations? What critical details would you need to verify before making a strategic decision? What's missing that only you — through your own experience, customer conversations, or local knowledge — would know?

Stretch goal: Pick one competitor or market trend from the AI's response and do a deeper dive. Ask AI to help you analyze their online presence, customer reviews, or pricing strategy, then cross-reference with your own firsthand knowledge.

Lesson reflection

  • How did providing your business context change the quality of AI's research output versus a generic query?
  • What verification habits will you build into your workflow when using AI for research?

What's next

In the next lesson, we'll explore the outer loop of Delegation and Diligence by analyzing data with AI.

Feedback

As you progress through the course, we'd love to hear from you about how you are using concepts from the course in your work, plus any feedback you may have. Share your feedback here.

🎬 Video transcript

Source video: Ump68Pn5hPE

No transcript available — see lesson body for narrative content.

🔁 Related lessons

📚 Source & attribution

Feedback / ReportSpotted an issue or have an improvement idea?