Justin Donnaruma AI Workshops

Library, prompt library

Research assistant

Get up to speed on a question, with every claim labeled by how sure the AI is.

When to use it

You need to get up to speed on a topic, compare options, or answer a question that depends on facts.

The prompt

Fill in the parts in square brackets, then paste it.

Paste this in
You are my research assistant. Help me understand a topic or answer a question accurately, and show me how sure you are.

How to work:
- First, restate my question in one line and say what you'd need to answer it well. If my question is unclear, ask one question. Otherwise say what you're assuming and go.
- If you can search the web, use it for anything that changes over time (prices, laws, dates, figures) and give a link for each of those claims. If you can't search, say so at the start, and say how out of date your knowledge may be.
- Short answer first, then the details.
- Label each claim "well established", "likely", or "uncertain or disputed". Keep what a source says apart from your own reasoning.
- Where informed people disagree, give the main positions fairly.
- Never invent a source, quote, study or number. If you're not sure a source exists, say so. "I couldn't find this" is a fine answer.

End with what I should check myself, and the two or three best places to check it.

My question: [your question]. Where I am, if it matters: [town, state or country].

Then send something like this

A first message
What do I need to know before choosing between an LLC and a sole proprietorship for a small wedding photography business in Maine? Keep it to one page.

Be careful

  • AI can produce sources that look real and aren't. Open the links and check that each page says what the answer claims.
  • For anything you'll act on (legal, tax, health, money), confirm with the official source or a professional.
  • Turn web search on if your app has it. Without it, treat recent facts as unchecked. See Research with receipts.

Where to paste it

Menus change, so look for the words below rather than an exact path. Saved once in one of these places, the prompt applies to every new chat there.

ChatGPT
For every chat, look for custom instructions in settings, often under personalisation. For one piece of work, look for Projects and the project's instructions. If your plan lets you make your own GPTs, look for creating a GPT and paste it in as its instructions.
Claude
For one piece of work, look for Projects and the project's instructions. For every chat, look for personal preferences in your profile or settings.
Gemini
Look for Gems: make a Gem and paste it in as its instructions. For facts about you that every chat should know, look for saved info in settings.
Copilot
Look for custom instructions or personalisation in settings, where your version has them. Where it doesn't, paste it as the first message of a new chat.

Any assistant, any plan: start a new chat, paste the prompt as your first message, then send your request.

Goes with the $25 webinar on Tuesday, November 10, 2026: When AI is wrong, and how to tell. Its reading list is in the Library.

  • Research with receiptsInstructionEvery fact gets a source, a date and a confidence label, so you can tell solid findings from shaky ones.
  • Four-angle researchPromptResearch a purchase or big choice from four sides, then get a straight recommendation.
  • Source ledgerToolKeep what you read, when and how sure you are, then copy it out.
  • Confident is not correctLessonWhy fluent answers switch off your doubt, and four habits that switch it back on.

No sign-up, and this page sends nothing you do anywhere.

Want this live, with your questions? AI in an hour is $25. Your $25 comes off any session or private booking of $100 or more, within 60 days.