Spine first, then flesh
Outline before prose
Ask for an outline: headings, one line on what each section must say, and the conclusion. Argue with it, reorder it, cut sections. This is where your judgement matters most, and it takes five minutes. Our Build the Spine Before the Document prompt does exactly this step.
Feed it your material
AI can only use what it has. Paste or upload your notes, the figures, last year's version and the brief from whoever asked for the document (within your data policy). Tell it to use only that material and to mark anything it would need to guess with [CHECK]. That one instruction cuts invented facts dramatically.
Draft a section at a time
Long single drafts drift: the start is sharp and the end is padded. Work section by section, reading each one before moving on. Ask for plain English, a set length and the reader's level of knowledge. Keep your own wording for conclusions and recommendations; they are the part people will hold you to.
Edit as the last pass
Use AI as an editor at the end: "Find sentences a busy manager would skip", "List claims that need a source", "Check consistency of figures across sections." Then read it yourself, out loud if you can. In 2025 Deloitte agreed to refund part of a government fee after a report was found to contain AI-generated errors, including invented references.
Think of a document you put off writing. Was the hard part the words, or deciding what you actually wanted to say?