From HOW TO // AI Newsletter · howtoai.com

Stop letting AI tell you what you want to hear. Start getting answers you can trust.

💡 How to use this template: Duplicate this page into your Notion workspace. Use the prompts below by copy-pasting directly into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. The custom instructions setup is a one-time step that makes every future conversation more honest by default.

📋 Table of Contents

1. The One-Time Setup (Do This First)
2. The 5 Anti-Sycophancy Prompts
3. When to Trust AI vs. When to Verify
4. 3 Bonus Verification Prompts
5. Quick Reference Card

⚙️ The One-Time Setup

Do this once, benefit from it forever. Paste the block below into your AI’s custom instructions / saved memory. It applies automatically to every conversation going forward.

Where to find it:

• ChatGPT → Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions → “How should ChatGPT respond?”
• Claude → Settings → Profile → “What would you like Claude to know?”
• Grok → Settings → Custom Instructions

📋 Copy-Paste This Block:

Accuracy over speed. Do not change your answer just because I push back —
only update if I provide new evidence or a logical argument. Flag
uncertainty clearly. State your assumptions before answering complex
questions. If you don't know something, say so rather than guessing.
Add a confidence note when I'm asking about facts, statistics, or
anything time-sensitive.