Why AI Gets You Wrong (and the 2-Second Fix Using RaR)

I’ve been married for nearly 20 years. In that time, I’ve learned lots of battle-tested techniques to avoid stepping on landmines in the field. One technique I’ve found useful is confirming orders from my commanding officer before executing the mission.

This usually comes up when the CO wants me to requisition supplies from the civilian grocery depot for her famous Hormel chili dip – a dish that’s become legendary at battalion potlucks.

She’ll issue the briefing: “Private Matt, deploy to the grocery store. Acquire two cans of Hormel chili, two blocks of cream cheese, a jar of banana peppers, 4 cups of cheddar cheese. Also secure some regular Coke for the troops.”

When I was a fresh recruit, I’d just snap to attention with a “Roger that, ma’am!”

At the supply depot, I’d locate the Hormel chili sector. They had cans with beans and cans without, so I obviously acquired the ones with beans. Who doesn’t like beans, right?

Next, I secured the cream cheese. Two low-fat blocks seemed tactically sound!

On to banana peppers… I requisitioned the hot ones, because you can never have enough firepower!

A few minutes into the mission, I stumbled across the sharp cheddar in sector 7.

Finally, in the soda aisle (or pop, depending on your region of deployment), I procured the off-brand because it’s all the same MRE juice, right?

I proceeded to extraction, completed the transaction, RTB’d (returned to base), and immediately got dressed down by my drill sergeant.

The next time she issued a shopping mission, I repeated back the orders for confirmation, just to be safe.

“Ma’am, confirming orders: two cans of Hormel chili, negative on the beans? Regular cream cheese, not the low-fat variant, copy? Mild banana peppers, requesting confirmation? Mild cheddar, affirmative? And genuine Coca-Cola, none of that knockoff ordnance we both hate, roger?”

Ever since I started confirming orders before deployment, my marriage has been operating at peak efficiency with minimal casualties.

I don’t do this just for supply runs either. Anytime there’s potential for mission confusion, I always practice this Rephrase and Respond technique for confirmation. Standard operating procedure now.

Now, here’s the interesting thing. This Rephrase and Respond technique isn’t just useful for avoiding friendly fire at home base. It also helps when you’re working with AI.

When you ask the AI to rephrase and repeat back what you said before it carries out your orders, you’re making sure of two things. First, that you were clear in your instructions. Second, the AI received and interpreted your orders exactly as you intended.

The result?

You get an AI that completes the mission you actually need done, not the one it thought you were ordering.

Let me show you how this works.

How It Works: The Rephrase and Respond Technique

This technique adds a quick, clarifying step to ensure that both you and the AI are on the same page.

Step 1: Write Your Prompt

Ask your question or give your command like you normally would, especially if it has any words that could be open to interpretation.

But don’t press “enter” on your keyboard yet.

Step 2: Add the RaR Command

At the end of your prompt, on a new line, add something like: “Before your respond, rephrase in your own words what you believe my request is, and respond back to me. I will confirm if that is correct or not.”

Once you’ve added this new command, then you can press enter and run it.

Step 3: Review the AI’s Response and Confirm/Adjust

The AI should respond with what it thinks you asked. So review what it said and make any adjustments accordingly.

You’ll eventually get the AI to carry out your finalized prompt, getting you a result that’s hopefully much higher quality than what you would’ve gotten without using the RaR technique.

Let’s look at an example of the RaR technique in practice.

Example of Using the Rephrase and Respond Prompting Technique

Let’s see how this works for a marketer asking for campaign ideas.

Problem: A marketer asks the AI for help with a “disruptive” marketing campaign.

We’ll look at two examples. The first one’s where we don’t use the RaR technique. The second one will use the technique.

1. Without Using Rephrase and Respond

Our company is launching ZestWave, a new sparkling water infused with adaptogenic herbs targeting health-conscious millennials who are moving away from traditional sodas. We’re a small brand competing against LaCroix and Bubly. Give me some ideas for a disruptive marketing campaign that will help us gain market share quickly.

That’s a pretty simple prompt. Nothing special. Let’s see what the AI comes up with:

1. “Fizz With Benefits” Guerrilla Launch
– Position ZestWave as the sparkling water that actually does something for you.
– Pop-up tasting booths in high-traffic, health-centric spots (yoga studios, co-working spaces, plant-based cafés). Instead of just sampling, frame it as a “mental reset station.” Free samples come with quick breathing/grounding exercises led by brand ambassadors.
– Tagline: “Not just bubbles. Balance.”

2. Social Challenge: #UpgradeYourBubbles
– Challenge consumers to “break up” with their empty sodas or basic sparkling water.
– TikTok/Instagram reels featuring people dramatically “dumping” old cans and trading them for ZestWave.
– UGC incentive: winners get a year of ZestWave, plus wellness prizes (e.g. meditation apps, boutique fitness passes).

3. The Anti-Soda Street Stunt
– Deploy “Soda Breakup Stations” in busy millennial hubs (Brooklyn, Austin, Portland, LA). A retro vending machine takes any soda can and spits out an ice-cold ZestWave in exchange.
– Capture reactions, push viral video content: “People are literally ditching their sodas for ZestWave.”

4. Align With the “Functional Beverage” Movement
– Instead of competing on “fun” branding alone, differentiate on the adaptogenic herbs.
– Educational but playful content: “Your soda doesn’t know ashwagandha from aspartame.”
– Short TikTok explainer videos with edgy humor + real science.

5. Collaborations With Micro-Influencers & Creators
– Go niche instead of expensive macro-influencers: wellness podcasters, urban runners, yoga instructors, digital nomads.
– Position them not just as endorsers but as co-creators (let them design limited-edition flavor collabs or host branded events).
– Creates community ownership around the brand.

6. Limited “Culture Drop” Flavors
– Seasonal, meme-worthy drops tied to cultural moments:
– “Burnout Berry” → promoted during tax season.
– “Glow Guava” → summer solstice campaign.
– Drop model mimics streetwear hype: scarcity creates urgency and word-of-mouth.

7. Content Engine: The “Zest Test”
– Run cheeky blind taste tests: LaCroix vs. Bubly vs. ZestWave. Except ZestWave isn’t just flavor — it’s “flavor + function.”
– Reactions filmed in high-energy, authentic street-interview style (think Vox meets Buzzfeed).
– Slogan tie-in: “You can taste the difference balance makes.”

What do you think?

At least to me, they don’t sound “disruptive” enough.

For example, take the first suggestion: “Fizz With Benefits” and mental reset stations with free samples. Wow, that sounds lame.

None of the results resonate with me.

Now let’s try it with the Rephrase and Respond technique.

2. With Using Rephrase and Respond

Our company is launching ZestWave, a new sparkling water infused with adaptogenic herbs targeting health-conscious millennials who are moving away from traditional sodas. We’re a small brand competing against LaCroix and Bubly. Give me some ideas for a disruptive marketing campaign that will help us gain market share quickly.

Before your respond, rephrase in your own words what you believe my request is, and respond back to me. I will confirm if that is correct or not.

Same exact prompt as before, but I’ve added an extra requirement. The AI should first rephrase what it thinks you’re asking and respond with that interpretation.

It’s also important to tell it to wait for confirmation. Otherwise, it’ll just give you its interpretation and carry out your directions. That’s not what you want.

You want me to come up with bold, creative, and attention-grabbing marketing campaign for ZestWave, your new sparkling water infused with adaptogenic herbs. Your target audience is health-conscious millennials who are shifting away from sodas, and you want strategies that will help your small brand stand out and quickly grab market share against big competitors like LaCroix and Bubly.

Is that an accurate restatement of your request?

Now that’s really interesting.

It either interpreted “disruptive” to mean “bold, creative, and attention-grabbing,” or it didn’t give any weight to the term at all.

This feedback is great because the AI isn’t getting it. We want MAJOR disruption!

So let’s continue the chat:

No. I want it to be very disruptive. Please give me ideas on what that could look like, how you interpret disruptive.

Thanks for clarifying. Here’s how I interpret your request:

You don’t just want “creative” campaigns—you’re asking for truly disruptive marketing. That means ideas that break category norms, challenge consumer expectations, and create buzz by doing something unexpected, bold, or even controversial. Disruptive here doesn’t just mean clever—it means forcing people to notice ZestWave in ways LaCroix or Bubly would never attempt, because they’re too big and safe.

For example, disruption could look like:

– Hijacking soda culture by mocking sugary sodas and bland sparkling waters in provocative, meme-worthy ways.
– Experiential stunts that physically interrupt people’s daily lives—think flash hydration stations in subway cars or guerilla tastings at spin classes.
– Reframing the category around adaptogens and mental wellness, not just hydration—positioning ZestWave as “liquid focus” or “sparkling stress relief,” which shifts the conversation away from flavor-only competitors.
– Leveraging counterculture aesthetics (punk, rave, hacker, wellness underground) rather than the pastel, bubbly branding everyone else uses.

So: you’re asking me to imagine marketing that feels uncomfortable to competitors but magnetic to your audience.

Do you want me to now generate a set of specific disruptive campaign ideas that apply this definition directly to ZestWave?

Yes.

1. Flip the Script on Sodas & Sparkling Water
– Launch a bold “Death to Soda, Rebirth of Refreshment” campaign where you literally stage “funerals” for soda in unexpected public spaces (parks, campuses, music festivals).
– Livestream it on TikTok/IG with quirky, memeable content.
– Give out free ZestWave samples at these events to position the brand as the natural heir to soda.

2. The Anti-Ad Campaign
– Instead of polished commercials, run raw, lo-fi, guerrilla-style ads that mock the artificial vibes of traditional soda brands.
– Example: Billboards that read:
– “LaCroix tastes like static. Bubly smiles at you. ZestWave makes you feel.”
– “This isn’t a soda. It’s your nervous system’s hype man.”
– Let people screenshot, share, and spread it as memes.

3. Herb-Infused Nightlife Hack
– Position ZestWave as the post-party recovery drink — adaptogens for balance + bubbles for refreshment.
– Partner with bars and clubs: instead of Red Bull + vodka, create ZestWave mocktails and “functional cocktails.”
– Late-night pop-up vending machines with neon branding: “Hydrate, don’t hate your mornings.”

4. Adaptogen Underground (Secret Tastings)
– Pop-up “hidden speakeasies” in yoga studios, co-working spaces, and art galleries.
– Entry via QR codes posted mysteriously around the city: “Need calm? Scan here.”
– Inside: free ZestWave samples + immersive experience (sound baths, neon-lit hydration walls).
– Frames the brand as part of a secret wellness club vs. mainstream soda.

5. Social Challenge with a Twist
– Launch the “#FizzFlipChallenge”: people record themselves pouring out their old soda and swapping in ZestWave.
– Make it rebellious but fun — like a cultural protest against sugar and artificial junk.
– Incentivize by giving away a year’s supply of ZestWave to the most creative submissions.

6. Reclaim the Grocery Aisle
– Instead of polite in-store tastings, stage “Interventions.”
– A “ZestWave Advocate” walks up to shoppers about to grab soda or LaCroix: “Hey, we need to talk. Your bubbles are holding you back.”
– Document it, post as guerilla-style reality content.

Look at that!

Those are some fairly disruptive ideas!

I love the first one. A streetside staged funeral! Genius. The actors dress in black, and the hold a proper funeral for the old sodas. You could probably even send out invites to the funeral, and if the guests also wear black, they get free swag or something.

I can totally see that taking off around a college campus. Students would livestream it and share the funeral all over social media.

The speakeasy idea is great too, along with the social challenge.

See how powerful the RaR technique is?

Advantages for Marketers and Sales Pros

1. Prevents Costly Misunderstandings: This is the #1 benefit. It ensures you and the AI are perfectly aligned before it generates a detailed response to the wrong interpretation of your question.
2. Makes the AI’s “Thinking” Transparent: By seeing how the AI understands your directions, you get a window into its “thought process.” You can immediately tell if its interpretation is flawed and correct it.
3. Saves You From Frustrating Rework: This is a classic “measure twice, cut once” technique. That 2-second confirmation step saves you from the painful back-and-forth of “No, that’s not what I meant!” after the fact.
4. Improves Your Own Prompting Skills: Seeing how an AI interprets your ambiguous words teaches you how to write clearer, more precise prompts in the future.

When to Use This Pattern

This is a powerful safety check to use whenever clarity is paramount.

• When your prompt contains subjective or ambiguous words like “best,” “successful,” “engaging,” “viral,” or “disruptive.”
• When you are asking a complex or multi-part question and you want to be absolutely sure the AI understands all the nuances and priorities.
• When you are working on a high-stakes task where a misunderstanding could lead to a significant strategic or creative error.
• When you’ve tried a prompt and are getting strange or off-target answers, using RaR on your next attempt is a great way to diagnose the misunderstanding.