Is AI missing the mark, or are we just drowning in the hype? The short answer is both.
The technology might be moving at an exponential clip, but the value most people are getting from it is low and slow to appear. That’s what happens when you wait for the machine to fix the problem instead of putting in the effort to learn how to make it work.
I see this all the time: someone sees an AI demo that blows their mind, then heads back to the studio and stares at the screen. The stress and confusion of trying to replicate what they just saw is paralyzing. Spending time closing the mental distance between that "magic trick" and what they need to do every morning starts to feel like a high-risk, low-reward effort, and they disengage.
Been there? I have. That happens because repeating steps from a demo, memorizing prompt formulas, and using the latest shiny new tech tool aren’t what unlock the potential of what AI can bring to your work. The reinvention isn’t driven by AI; it's found in a better relationship with the tool.
With AI, being aware of what works and what doesn’t will never be as important as knowing why. An easy way to get a better idea of what's going on under the hood is to tell the AI to ask you questions. Sounds backward, but it's not.
Prompt: I want you to interview me about my radio station so you can create a station brand profile. Be comprehensive and ask questions one at a time.
During the interview, regardless of the question you are asked, share any information that comes to mind that you think is important for your brand profile.
When the AI has finished interviewing you and has created the brand profile, prompt: Tell me how you decided which questions to ask me and why they’re important.
Reading the response moves you closer to understanding how to consistently get what you need. You're doing more than just giving AI tasks or asking for information. This is a behavioral change that helps you understand what the AI needs to know to work better for you.
Earlier today, (Friday 4/3), I asked Claude to write a prompt I could use to create a radio script for a daily country music news briefing and gave it five or six of the elements that should be present in the briefing and told it to ask me as many questions as possible so that the briefing is entertaining and interesting to the country radio listener.
It took about 10 minutes for Claude to ask its questions, most of which reminded me to provide more information that it was asking for. Here’s one of the stories the final prompt generated.
She Did WHAT to Taylor Swift's Record?
ARTISTS: Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, Luke Grimes, Ava Phillippe
SONGS/ALBUMS: Choosin' Texas | Album: Dandelion (out April 10)
TEASE: Ella Langley just made history, and she brought some famous friends along to celebrate.
SCRIPT: A small-town Georgia girl just knocked Taylor Swift out of the record books. Ella Langley's Choosin' Texas spent its fourth week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, making her the female country artist with the longest reign ever on the all-genre chart. To celebrate, she dropped a cinematic music video packed with big names: Yellowstone star Luke Grimes plays her love interest, Miranda Lambert, who co-wrote the song, makes an appearance, and Reese Witherspoon's daughter Ava Phillippe shows up to break some hearts. The album, Dandelion, drops April 10th.
WHY IT MATTERS: Record-breaking chart run + A-list video cameos + album dropping next week = maximum content opportunity across every platform.
SOURCES: Billboard | Rolling Stone
It added this:
BEFORE YOU POST TODAY
-Ella Langley's content is everywhere right now: great day to ride that wave across all platforms. Video just dropped, album in one week. Lots of angles.
-Tim McGraw's HOF induction story is a few weeks old, but the prank angle is newly surfaced — frame it as a personal story, not an awards recap.
-Country Thunder Arizona kicks off next week (April 9–12) with Lainey Wilson headlining. Worth a heads-up post today if your audience travels to festivals.
-Nothing flagged for sensitivity today.
Makes me want to have Claude ask me questions about how it should write prompts to generate social posts, blog articles, images, videos, and a customized 30-second song, all centered on the specific content of today's Country Music News Briefing.
