Direct answer or reasoning
Situation
The situation
Make the AI think step by step when there is a calculation.
You are a painter and decorator in Tours. A customer wants a quote to repaint three rooms. You want the AI to help you work out the paint, the hours and the price.
Idea 1 of 3
Two ways to answer
A direct answer comes straight away. A reasoned answer works in steps: slower, but often more reliable for a calculation, a quote or a choice. In that case, ask it to reason step by step: you see each step, and any mistake. Rewording a sentence does not need it.
Idea 2 of 3
The thinking setting
Many tools have a thinking setting: more effort, a slower and more careful answer. The aidock chat has none: keep “Auto” or pick a model that “thinks before answering”. Its steps may appear under “Model reasoning”.
Idea 3 of 3
Assumptions in plain sight
Ask it to write down its assumptions: the area used, the number of coats, the time per square metre. A wrong assumption shows straight away, and you fix it before sending the quote.
Example
Before and after
How much do I charge for this job?
Work out the price of this job step by step. Write your assumptions first, then each calculation, then the total.
Why? You see each step: a mistake or a wrong assumption is caught before the customer sees it.
Question 1 of 3
For which task do you ask for step-by-step reasoning?
See the answer
Working out the price of a job A multi-step calculation benefits from detail. A rewording does not.
Question 2 of 3
Why ask for the assumptions?
See the answer
To catch a wrong basis before the customer does The assumptions show what the calculation rests on. The AI can still make mistakes: you are the one who checks.
Question 3 of 3
Does reasoning have a cost?
See the answer
Yes: the answer takes longer Thinking in steps takes time. Save it for the tasks that deserve it.
Exercise
Your turn
Improve this request: make the AI reason step by step and ask it to write down its assumptions.
Ctrl + Enter to check your request.
Checklist
- Ask for step-by-step reasoning, to do
- Ask it to write down its assumptions, to do
- Keep the job data, to do
A suggestion
Job: 3 rooms, walls of 32 m², 28 m² and 41 m², two coats. Paint: 1 litre per 10 m² per coat, €60 for a 10-litre tin. Labour: €45 an hour, about 8 m² painted per hour. Work out the total price for the quote step by step. Write your assumptions first, then each calculation, then the total, and flag any missing data.
Each try and each coach feedback counts as 1 message from your daily quota (10 without an account, 100 with an account).
AI answer
You are chatting with an AI. It can make mistakes: check important information.
Coach feedback
End of the lesson
Lesson complete
For a calculation or a choice, ask for the steps and the assumptions, then check the total.