Module 3 Academy

Part 1 · Foundations

03

Context is king

4 min read · Module 3 of 13

The concept

Missing context is the single biggest cause of bad AI output — bigger than model choice, bigger than clever phrasing, bigger than everything else combined. The model has read most of the internet but has never met your client, never sat in the room where the CEO said "no more celebrities," and does not know that the last deck was rejected. When it lacks a fact, it does not stop — it generates the most plausible-sounding substitute, and it sounds just as confident as when it's right. Your job is to move the relevant knowledge out of your head and onto the desk before you ask the question. The discipline is not "write more"; it's "write the right more."

The test for whether a piece of information belongs in the prompt: would a talented freelancer, new to your agency, need this to do the job well? If yes, include it. If no, cut it.

What to include vs. omit

Include — almost always:

  • Who the client is and what they actually sell (one line beats a paragraph)
  • The audience, and specifically what they fear or resist, not just demographics
  • What's already been tried and rejected, and why it was rejected
  • Brand rules: forbidden words, mandatory claims, legal constraints, tone guardrails
  • Real source material — the actual brief, the actual transcript, the actual last email
  • The decision this output feeds into ("this goes in front of the CMO on Thursday")
  • Your own point of view, if you have one. "I think the answer is X, pressure-test it" gets you further than pretending to be neutral.

Omit — usually:

  • Generic industry background the model already knows ("advertising is competitive")
  • Your entire company history when you need one email
  • Six alternative framings of the same instruction (contradictions confuse; pick one)
  • Politeness padding, apologies, and "as you know" throat-clearing
  • Anything confidential you wouldn't want stored — real salaries, ID numbers, client contract values you don't need for the task. Redact to [BUDGET] and the answer is unaffected.

The one thing people always forget: the negative context. What's off the table. "The client's founder hates the word 'journey'" is worth more than three paragraphs of positioning.

Before → After

BEFORE 
Write a client email explaining the delay.

What you get: a generic corporate apology that could be from a bank. It will invent a reason for the delay, apologise too much, and offer a discount you never authorised.

AFTER 
Write a client email explaining a production delay.

CONTEXT
- Client: marketing manager at a pharma company, formal, WhatsApp-averse,
  prefers email with clear dates.
- Relationship: 3 years, good, but she was burned by a previous vendor
  and is sensitive about being kept in the dark.
- The facts: the location permit for the Alexandria shoot came through
  4 days late. Shoot moves from 12 to 16 March. Delivery moves from
  28 March to 2 April. Her campaign launch is 15 April — so she is
  still clear by 13 days.
- Fault: partly ours (we applied for the permit late). Do not hide this.
- Do NOT offer a discount or any commercial concession.
- I want her to feel informed and in control, not managed.

CONSTRAINTS
English, under 150 words, no apology longer than one sentence, lead
with the new dates not the excuse, end with a concrete next action
from us with a date.

FORMAT
Subject line + body. Give me 2 versions: one warmer, one more clinical.
Exercise

Do this

Open the last three chats where you were frustrated with the output. For each, write down the one fact that, had you included it, would have fixed the answer. You'll find the same category of missing fact repeats — probably "what was already rejected" or "who this is actually for." That recurring gap is your personal blind spot; put it at the top of your template permanently.