One of the best features of GovAI is how easy it is to use. You simply type your prompt and the system will provide you with a great response. But you can get even better responses from GovAI if you follow these best practices.
Personalize Your Instructions to GovAI
One of the most effective ways to enhance the quality of responses in GovAI is by using Personal Instructions. This feature allows you to tailor the assistant’s outputs to better align with your unique needs and preferences. By providing details about your role, organization, or specific requirements, you can ensure GovAI understands your context and delivers more relevant and actionable responses. Additionally, you can specify how you’d like the assistant to communicate—whether you prefer concise answers, a formal tone, or more detailed explanations.
For a detailed walkthrough of how to set up and optimize custom instructions, refer to our help article on Customizing GovAI Outputs. It’s a great resource to help you unlock the full potential of this feature.
Have a Conversation
GovAI is designed as a conversational assistant. Each time you ask GovAI a question or give it a command, a new thread is created for the topic at hand. With that in mind, treat your interaction with GovAI like you would a conversation with a smart human assistant. You can go back and forth, give GovAI feedback on its responses, or ask for more specifics on a topic. This back-and-forth interaction helps refine the response and provides you with a better overall answer.
For example, let's say you ask GovAI to produce a template for a Time and Materials construction contract. After GovAI generates the template, you might want to ask it to add a missing section. Once GovAI incorporates the changes and you're happy with the template, you can ask it to generate typical language found in these contracts for each section. Then, you can request more detail on one section and less on another, and so on. As you continue this conversation, GovAI will better understand your needs and provide more tailored responses.
Ask for Introspection
Similar to how humans use introspection to refine their thoughts, asking GovAI to do the same can significantly enhance its responses. The first response you receive from GovAI should be seen as a starting point on which to build.
Continuing with the example from earlier on generating a Time and Material contract. Once the text is generated and you're happy with the content, you may want to ask GovAI:
"Given the current text of the contract, what are some areas of weakness in the language that can be strengthened?"
This works really well since you're putting focusing GovAI's capabilities on:
a) The text that you want refined (introspected), and
b) GovAI's contract language expertise.
From there you can follow with:
"Are there areas where extra detail in the contract can provide better protection against future issues with the contractor"
The introspection method is also helpful for open-ended or creative types of inquiries. For example when asking:
"What's the best way to respond to frustrated citizens about the reduced garbage collection schemes" you can follow-up on GovAI first response with "Are there better strategies I can use to respond?"
Or on the more creative side "Generate a friendly yet informative copy for a new rain barrel giveaway program" you can follow-up on GovAI first response with "Is the copy informative enough, or should more detail be provided?"
These are some of the simple ways you can get more out of GovAI. We hope you find these tips helpful!