After this, you can run a small first AI project that shows you whether the AI asks for what's missing or makes it up.
Why it matters
A made-up appointment time looks exactly like a real one. Until nobody's home.
A confirmation message is a great first AI project because you already know what a good one needs, so you can judge the answer. You don't need to start by asking AI to build your whole company. Start with one annoying task you can check.
The steps
- Make up a fake appointment. Fictional customer, fictional address, fictional phone number. Leave the time out on purpose. No real customer details for this, ever.
- Paste the prompt from the box into an AI chat tool. A basic one is fine for this test.
- Check what it does about the time. If it asks, "What time?" Good sign. If it picks one, now you know: it fills gaps with guesses that look real.
- Give it the time and compare. Put the draft next to what your appointment coordinator would send. Is every fact right? Is it clear? Is anything missing?
- Look for extras. Free parking? A discount? A complimentary lunch? Anything you didn't give it has to go. I asked for a confirmation, not a hospitality package.
- Give it a longer audition. Run more fake appointments, each missing something different. Have your appointment coordinator check the steps and the final message. Don't hook it up to every customer because it nailed one.
Copy this
Draft a short appointment confirmation with the date, time, location and contact details. Don't invent anything. Tell me what's missing before drafting. Customer: Dana Sample Service: roof inspection Date: Tuesday the 14th Address: 123 Example Street, Sampletown Contact: (555) 010-0123
Notice there's no time in there. That's the test.
Example (made up)
The office manager at Northside Plumbing, a fictional shop, tries this on a slow afternoon. She pastes the prompt with the time left out.
The AI replies: "What time is the appointment?" Good sign. She gives it 2 PM. The draft has the right date, address and number, but it also says "free parking on site." Nobody said that. Out it goes.
The appointment coordinator compares it with the confirmation they normally send and notices the draft never says how to reschedule. They add that to the prompt. Then they run several more fake appointments, one with no address, one with no phone number, before anyone talks about using it for real.
Mistakes to avoid
- Testing with real customer names, addresses or phone numbers.
- Trusting it after one good answer.
- Checking whether it sounds nice instead of checking every fact against what you gave it.
- Starting with a task you can't judge. If you don't know what right looks like, you can't catch wrong.
Getting an answer is easy. The skill is saying, "Hang on. Where'd you get that?"
