Yesterday, I wrote about the risk of getting stuck using AI just for speed. So, how do we get to the next level of quality and innovation?
It starts with a simple but critical shift in how we talk to our AI teammates.
Your custom GPT follows your brand guidelines better than your team. It can write a persona-based email in seconds. Maybe too convenient.
Go-to-market teams are doing the hard work of building AI teammates. They’re training them on brand guidelines, messaging frameworks, customer personas, and strategic templates. This is a good, solid foundation.
But I’m noticing that many teams are unintentionally outsourcing the thinking along with the execution to custom GPTs.
For routine, high-volume tasks like summarizing call notes or categorizing support tickets, this automation makes perfect sense. The issue is when we do the same for strategic work that defines our value.
I’m seeing teams with GPTs with instructions like “Make sure this article is aligned to our brand, tone, and voice” or “Write an email for this persona aligned to our messaging framework.” The work gets done well and fast. Everyone feels productive.
But the more we outsource our judgment, the harder it becomes to get it back. Imagine a marketer who can’t explain their own positioning unless they ask the GPT first.
You need to be able to still reason through messy, complex trade-offs without AI. Custom GPTs make this even more critical because teams share them. One GPT designed to think for you can train your entire org out of thinking.
The biggest difference is in the GPTs’ instructions. See the examples below.
Your AI teammate knows your brand, personas, and frameworks. Ensure your instructions use that knowledge to think with you, not for you.
That means:
➡︎ Ask for analysis and assessments before recommendations
➡︎ Request pros and cons, not just answers
➡︎ Make sure humans still make the final decision
Each conversation teaches you something. You learn how to evaluate ideas, understand trade-offs, and make better decisions.
If you’re not sure whether you’re outsourcing too much: Try asking your GPT “What assumptions are you making?” or “What would a different persona think?”
If the response surprises you, you’ve got thinking work to get back.
This is how you move past using AI for speed and start using it for quality and innovation.
