The Concept: The AI as Your Chaos-to-Structure Specialist
It’s 9 PM on a Tuesday. The kids are finally asleep, and Michelle’s staring at her laptop screen. Earlier that morning, she had a discovery call with a potential client worth $100k, followed by a brainstorming meeting with her team.
Her notes? Complete chaos. She’s got three pages of chicken scratch from the client call, including pain points, budget details, constraints, and timeline information. Then there’s a page of notes from her team, filled with half-finished sentences about creative ideas, technical concerns, and random “we could also…” thoughts scattered everywhere.
She needs to turn this mess into a polished proposal by tomorrow morning, but something like that would normally take her the next three hours of writing, rewriting, and formatting.
Sound familiar?
If you’re nodding your head right now, I’ve got a handy fill-in-the-blank trick to share with you. You can include it in your prompt to turn a chaotic mess of notes into something easily digestible.
This technique isn’t just useful for large amounts of messy data. It also works great when you need the AI to give you output in a specific non-standard format (that is, a format you create yourself).
Let me show you how this works.
How It Works: From Brain Dump to Brilliance
This technique is super easy to implement.
First, you’ll need a section near the end of your prompt that has the fill-in-the-blank template you want the AI to follow.
Last, you need to identify that what you just wrote is a template you want the AI to follow when writing the output. You know it’s a template, but the AI may not. Make sure to put this at the start of the template.
That’s all you have to do!
If you’re a visual learner like me, here’s an example of how it works:
AI Prompt
[NOTES FROM CLIENT MEETING]:
Met with GreenThread Fashion, founder Emma Chen, been in business 3 years, doing $2M revenue but flat growth for 18 months. She’s frustrated that cheaper fast fashion brands are winning even though her products are ethically made and last 10x longer. Their Instagram has 50K followers but low engagement. Emma said “People love our values when they hear about them but we’re invisible online.” Current messaging is all about sustainability but she admitted most customers don’t buy for that reason – they buy because the clothes actually look good and fit well. Competitors like Reformation are eating their lunch. Budget is $30-50K for complete rebrand. Need to launch before Earth Day (April 22) to capitalize on sustainability focus. They have an email list of 8,000 but only email once a month. No TikTok presence. Their website converts at 0.8% which is terrible. Emma almost cried when she said “I didn’t leave investment banking to run a mediocre fashion brand.”
[NOTES FROM TEAM MEETING]:
Designer Sarah says their visual identity is actually strong but inconsistent application. Their photos are gorgeous but captions are preachy. Copywriter Marcus noticed they bury the style/fit benefits under sustainability preaching – classic mistake. We could reposition from “sustainable fashion” to “investment pieces that happen to be sustainable” – lead with quality/style, support with values. Sarah suggested a “Cost Per Wear” calculator to show true value. Marcus wants to create a “Why It’s Worth It” campaign. We should audit their entire customer journey. Their email list is gold but underutilized. TikTok opportunity huge – behind-the-scenes content would kill. Could partner with micro-influencers who care about quality over quantity. The Earth Day timeline is tight but doable if we focus on messaging first, visual identity refresh second.
[DIRECTIONS]:
Transform the notes into a polished client proposal using my agency’s proposal template found below. Add strategic recommendations based on the client’s situation.
[PROPOSAL TEMPLATE]:
CLIENT CHALLENGE: (SPECIFIC PAIN POINT FROM DISCOVERY)
OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH:
(STRATEGIC PILLAR 1)
(STRATEGIC PILLAR 2)
(STRATEGIC PILLAR 3)
SCOPE OF WORK:
Phase 1: (WHAT AND TIMELINE)
Phase 2: (WHAT AND TIMELINE)
Phase 3: (WHAT AND TIMELINE)
INVESTMENT: (AMOUNT WITH PAYMENT TERMS)
SUCCESS METRICS:
(MEASURABLE OUTCOME 1)
(MEASURABLE OUTCOME 2)
(MEASURABLE OUTCOME 3)
WHY THOMPSON CREATIVE: (UNIQUE DIFFERENTIATOR SPECIFIC TO CLIENT)
RELEVANT CASE STUDY: (CLIENT NAME AND SPECIFIC RESULT)
IMMEDIATE QUICK WIN: (SOMETHING THEY CAN IMPLEMENT NOW)
[PROPOSAL]:
See how I showed the AI exactly how to use the template? I told it in the [DIRECTIONS] that I’ve got a template I want it to follow, then I added a clear indication of the template by putting the header [PROPOSAL TEMPLATE] above the template itself. This makes it crystal clear what I want the AI to do.
I also added “[PROPOSAL]:” at the end. While this isn’t something you have to do, it helps avoid any extra comments from the AI (like when it says “Here’s the proposal you wanted…”).
Here is the result:
AI Response
CLIENT CHALLENGE:
GreenThread Fashion has hit a revenue plateau at $2M despite having superior product quality and strong brand values. The core issue is a messaging strategy that leads with sustainability preaching instead of the style and quality benefits customers actually purchase for, resulting in brand invisibility, low website conversion (0.8%), and losing market share to competitors like Reformation who better communicate fashion-first positioning.
OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH:
– Reposition from “sustainable fashion” to “fashionable clothes that last for years (and happen to be sustainable)” – leading with style, fit, and quality while using sustainability as supporting proof of value”
– Create a comprehensive content ecosystem that showcases behind-the-scenes craftsmanship and quality through underutilized channels like TikTok and optimized email marketing
– Develop tools and campaigns that quantify value through “Cost Per Wear” calculators and “Why It’s Worth It” messaging that justifies premium pricing with tangible benefits
SCOPE OF WORK:
Phase 1: Strategic Foundation & Messaging (Weeks 1-4)
– Complete customer journey audit and competitive analysis
– Develop new brand messaging hierarchy and content strategy
– Create “Cost Per Wear” calculator and value communication tools
– Launch “Why It’s Worth It” campaign across existing channels
Phase 2: Channel Optimization & Content Creation (Weeks 5-10)
– Establish TikTok presence with behind-the-scenes content strategy
– Transform email marketing from monthly to strategic weekly campaigns
– Optimize website conversion through improved messaging and user experience
– Visual identity refresh and consistent application guidelines
Phase 3: Influencer Strategy & Earth Day Launch (Weeks 11-16)
– Develop micro-influencer partnership program focused on quality-conscious creators
– Execute Earth Day campaign launch with new positioning
– Implement performance tracking and optimization protocols
INVESTMENT:
$42,000 total investment
– 50% due upon contract signing
– 25% due at Phase 2 completion
– 25% due at project completion
SUCCESS METRICS:
– Increase website conversion rate from 0.8% to 2.5% within 90 days
– Grow email list engagement rate by 150% and reduce unsubscribe rate by 40%
– Achieve 25,000 TikTok followers and 100K+ views per month within 6 months
WHY THOMPSON CREATIVE:
We specialize in repositioning premium brands that have been commoditized by focusing on intrinsic value rather than category expectations. Our approach transforms “preaching to the choir” sustainability messaging into compelling fashion-first narratives that convert browsers into buyers while maintaining brand integrity.
RELEVANT CASE STUDY:
Elevated Basics repositioned from “eco-friendly basics” to “the last t-shirt you’ll ever need to buy”, resulting in 340% increase in conversion rate and $800K additional revenue in first year while maintaining their sustainability mission.
IMMEDIATE QUICK WIN:
Audit your current Instagram captions and replace sustainability-leading posts with style/quality-first messaging. Test our suggested caption formula: “Here’s why this piece works for [specific style situation]” + visual proof + sustainability as closing credibility rather than opening statement. Implement this week to see immediate engagement improvement.
That’s fantastic!
The AI transformed Michelle’s scattered notes into a strategic narrative and kept her premium agency positioning. It added insights she might not have thought about, and the document is ready for the client after a quick review. She could even spice it up by formatting it in a Google Doc or presentation software.
I hope you’ve noticed how simple it is to guide the AI to create output that follows a specific format or template.
Let me also remind you that this technique works for way more situations than just the brain dump example I showed you. The only limit is your imagination!
When to Use This Pattern
Deploy the fill-in-the-blank technique whenever you need to:
Transform Meeting Notes: Turn rambling discovery calls into structured proposals, strategies, or briefs.
Standardize Client Deliverables: Ensure every client report, audit, or recommendation follows your premium format.
Scale Personalization: Create customized documents that feel bespoke but follow proven templates.
Manage Multiple Stakeholders: Generate different versions of the same information for different audiences (CEO vs. team vs. contractors).
Ensure Quality Control: Ensure the AI gives its response in the exact format you want every single time.