Quick fixes AG-V004
Ask what it assumed
Shared methods · A shared method; linked tool guides explain the exact steps.
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Every answer to an underspecified question rests on assumptions the model filled in silently. One follow-up makes them visible while they are cheap.
It assumed things about me that are wrong? Here's the quick fix ↓ — the why sits right below it.
Quick fix: Ask what it assumed
Instead of Take the budget estimate and build the proposal on it.
Try Before I use this: list the assumptions this estimate rests on, about my situation, the market, and anything you filled in because I didn't say.
One follow-up, before the answer becomes a foundation.
Why this works
Your question never contains everything, so the model completes it with defaults: the average jurisdiction, current-year prices, a typical team size, the common meaning of an ambiguous word. The answer is then correct for that completed question, which may be nobody's actual question. The assumptions themselves are usually easy to check once stated ("we assumed US rates"; you are in Switzerland), and each wrong one you catch is a rework you skipped.
When this applies
The answer will be built on (an estimate, a plan, a legal or technical reading) and your question left room for interpretation, which it did.
Template
List the assumptions behind that answer, sorted by how much the conclusion changes if they're wrong. Flag any you had to guess because I didn't say.
Go deeper
This pairs with asking for the counter-case: assumptions are where an answer can fail, the critique is how. The underlying mechanics — models complete underspecified questions rather than refusing them — is why it invents things applied to your prompt instead of the facts.
Improve next
- Make it argue the other side
Ask for the strongest case against before you rely on it.
- Say what you actually want
Tell the AI what outcome you actually want.
Something wrong with this page?
Say what you expected and what you got. That is usually the shortest route to a correction, and it goes on the public issue tracker so the fix is visible.