Title: Make AI show you the plan before it writes (Part 1 of 4) Author: Natalie Lambert Published: 2026-11-03 Type: Newsletter — Prompt, Tinker, Innovate URL: https://genedge.co/newsletter/make-ai-show-you-the-plan-before-it-writes Excerpt: A polished AI draft can take longer to fix than a rough plan. Part 1 of a four-part series on keeping AI on track shows what changes when you review the approach before AI drafts, using an onboarding guide as the example and the built-in Plan mode in ChatGPT and Claude. --- Welcome to Prompt, Tinker, Innovate—my AI playground. Each edition gives you a hands-on experiment that shows how AI can sharpen your thinking, streamline your process, and power up your creative work. Part 1 of 4: Get AI to finish the job. Plan → Loop → Goal → Schedule. This week: plan. ## This week's playground: Ask for the plan first You ask AI to make an onboarding guide for a new teammate. It starts writing before you have decided what that person needs on day one. The polished draft leaves out access, owners, or first-week priorities. The built-in Plan modes in ChatGPT Work on desktop and Claude Code change the order. The AI proposes an approach before doing the work, so you can review it first. In a regular chat, you can ask it to plan and wait, but that pause depends on the AI following your instruction. Fixing a plan takes one message. Fixing a draft takes a rewrite. Over the next four weeks, we'll try four ways to keep AI on track. Each issue has its own exercise, so you can jump in at any point. ## Why this matters Much AI rework starts with assumptions made too early. For an onboarding guide, those might be the new hire's role, the tools they need, and who can answer questions. Confident guesses read like decisions, which makes the wrong ones hard to spot. A plan puts those assumptions in front of you while they are still easy to change. ## Use case spotlight: An onboarding guide that starts with questions Say a teammate joins next month and you need a one-page onboarding guide. Ask AI to write it immediately and it may invent the first-week schedule, required access, and who owns each step. With a plan first, the assistant asks about the role, first-week priorities, access, and who can help. Then it shows you the sections it intends to write. You can correct the approach before a draft exists. ## Where this works - Any AI chat: Use the regular-chat version below. Its explicit "stop and wait" instruction asks for a planning checkpoint, but it does not turn on a built-in Plan mode. - ChatGPT desktop app: Select Work, then type "/plan" to turn on Plan mode and paste the prompt. Review the plan before approving it. - Claude: Plan mode lives in Claude Code. Most PTI readers haven't tried Claude Code, and this series is a good excuse to dip a toe in. It does more than code. Click the tab at the top of your Claude window, choose Plan from the mode menu next to the prompt box (or type /plan), then paste the prompt. Why the difference matters: in a built-in Plan mode, the assistant can explore and propose an approach without making changes, then waits for your approval. In a regular chat, the prompt asks it to pause, but the app does not hold that boundary for you. ## Your AI experiment: Try this prompt 👉 Time to tinker: Think of a new teammate joining your team. No real hire coming up? Imagine an operations coordinator starting next month. Choose the version below that matches your app. In the ChatGPT desktop app, select Work before using /plan. In Plan mode, notice what the app does without being told to stop. In regular chat, the prompt has to request that pause. 📝 Built-in Plan mode: Type "/plan" first, then paste this prompt. Create a one-page onboarding guide for a new [role] joining [team]. Cover first-week priorities, essential access, key contacts, and important dates. Use only facts I provide; mark gaps [confirm]. 📝 Prompt: If using standard Chat, then just paste this prompt: I need a one-page onboarding guide for a new [role] joining [team]. Don't draft it yet. Ask me up to four questions, one at a time, about first-week priorities, access, contacts, and dates. Then show me the sections you propose and any assumptions. Stop and wait for my approval. After I approve, draft the guide using only facts I gave you; mark gaps [confirm]. Answer each question with specifics. Before you approve, change one section or correct one assumption and see how the plan responds. 💡 Pro tips: Make the plan do the hard thinking - Replace [role] and [team] with specifics, such as "operations coordinator" and "customer support." As you answer questions or review the plan, add details like "shadow two support calls in week one" and "Maya handles access." - Change the plan before you approve it. One message fixes a plan. A finished draft needs a rewrite. - Ask about weak spots. Before approving, ask: "Which of your assumptions are you least sure about?" ## Make it yours What would you change to make this useful in your own work? Until next time—keep tinkering, keep prompting, keep innovating. Next week in Part 2: turn project notes into an update that checks its own work. 📩 Not subscribed yet? Hit the button at the top. You won't want to miss what's next.