Prompt Playbook: Building AI Assistants with Claude Projects PART 1

For a year, I've been writing this newsletter entirely by hand. People always asked me why I wasn't using AI to help. I'm an AI guy, for goodness' sake! The truth is: they were never good enough. My standards wouldn't allow me to generate subpar content using ChatGPT and publish it to 60,000 people. No way. And even if I got a draft, I'd spend more time editing it than just writing manually.

This all changed with Claude, specifically Claude Projects. I now use Claude Projects to co-write my newsletters. It's been a sea change - previously, a newsletter would take me 2 hours a day to write; now that's reduced to 45 minutes. This is super important because I'm working on a 250k goal launch right now and need to free up the time!

Here's the kicker: very few people are using Claude Projects. And if you aren't, you're missing out.

This week, I'm showing you how to leverage this (genuinely) game-changing tech. I don’t often get this excited about a new AI release (most are overhyped) but this is super powerful.

Let’s get started

Introduction to Claude Projects and AI Assistants

What Are Claude Projects?

Claude Projects let your build out your own personal AI team, ready to tackle any task you throw at them. They're supercharged versions of the Claude AI you might already know and love, but with some serious upgrades.

If you aren’t using Claude yet it’s available here: https://claude.ai/

It absolutely slaps. It’s taken over from ChatGPT in nearly every task for me personally.

Projects are a new addition to Claude. Projects are like mini-programmes you can make in Claude. You can create multiple AI assistants, each with its own speciality. Want an assistant to help with your LinkedIn posts? Done. Need another to proofread your newsletters? Easy peasy. How about one to help with legal document review? You've got it.

But here's the kicker: these assistants aren't just one-trick ponies. They can handle complex, multi-step tasks and retain context over long conversations. It's like having a brilliant intern who never forgets a thing you've told them.

Why Use Claude Projects for Your AI Assistants?

Now, you might be thinking, "Kyle, I can just use ChatGPT or Custom GPTs for this." And you're not wrong. Technically. Well…sorta are! Basically, Claude Projects offer some serious advantages:

1. Bigger context window: Projects can handle much longer conversations and documents. Perfect for those complex, multi-step tasks.

2. Bigger memory: ever tried to upload your company SOP into ChatGPT and it was too long? Or an archive of your blog posts? ChatGPT has a baby memory compared to Claude which means we can’t preload it with lots of relevant material.

3. Better with longer form content: If you're working on anything more substantial than a tweet, Projects have got you covered.

A big limitation to keep in mind

Claude Projects can't search the web or access real-time information. This is a biggie! Depending on your use case.

But here's the thing: a lot of the time this isn't actually a problem. We're going to be uploading files to the Knowledge Base for the "external" knowledge. This actually gives us more control. We're not relying on relatively random searches but preloading with the specific information we want it to use. It's like creating a curated library for your AI assistant rather than relying on it going to find info online.

Quick comparison

• Use ChatGPT Custom GPTs for: Simple, single-task assistants that need web access.

• Use Claude Projects for: Complex, multi-step tasks, handling large amounts of data, and highly customised assistants.

What Kind of Assistants Can You Create?

While the possibilities are vast, it's important to focus on tasks that will truly make a difference in your business. The best AI assistants tackle tasks that are:

1. Repetitive: Tasks you find yourself doing over and over again.

2. Time-consuming: Activities that eat up a significant portion of your day.

3. Require consistency: Outputs that need to maintain a uniform style or quality.

4. Don't require real-time web searching: Tasks that can be completed with a stable knowledge base.

With these criteria in mind, here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing

• A LinkedIn post writer focused on your industry niche

• A product description generator for your e-commerce site

• A customer FAQ responder based on your company's knowledge base

• A code comment writer for a specific programming language

• An email subject line generator for your marketing campaigns

• A financial report summariser for your quarterly reviews

Remember, the key is to identify tasks that meet these criteria and are specifically valuable to your business operations. The Importance of Focus

Here's a crucial tip: Focus your assistants on specific tasks. The most common mistake with AI assistants is that people try to make an all-singing, all-dancing assistant. They go way too broad.

It doesn't work - the instructions, knowledge base, and narrowing (more on this throughout the week) will vary for different tasks.

Don't make a "social media assistant" that does Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram posts for you. Instead, focus! - make an assistant just for Twitter. Better yet, make an assistant just for Twitter Threads. The more focused, the better the output.

When I train individuals and companies, this is the number one error I see. Again and again. Remember: master of one, not jack of all trades.

Brainstorming Your AI Assistant

Now, it's your turn. Let's use this prompt to help you brainstorm potential AI assistants for your business:

You are an AI consultant specialising in business process optimisation. Your task is to help the user identify potential AI assistant use cases for their business. Ask the following questions one at a time, waiting for the user's response before proceeding:

1. What industry is your business in?
2. What are your primary job responsibilities?
3. What tasks do you find yourself repeating frequently?
4. Which activities consume most of your time but don't directly contribute to your core business goals?
5. Are there any areas where you struggle to maintain consistency?

Based on the user's responses, suggest 3-5 potential AI assistants they could create, focusing on very specific, narrow tasks. For each suggestion, explain:
- The specific, focused task or role the assistant would handle
- How it would save time or improve consistency
- Potential challenges in implementing this assistant

What's Next?

Here's a sneak peek at what we'll be covering this week

1. Introduction to Claude Projects and AI Assistants

2. Priming Your AI Assistant: Setting up for success

3. Uploading: Building Your Knowledge Base

4. Narrowing: Testing and Refining Your Assistant

5. Deploying Your AI Assistant: Putting It to Work

Each Part, we'll dive deep into one of these crucial steps. By the end of this Playbook, you'll have all the knowledge you need to create, refine, and deploy your very own AI assistant using Claude Projects.

Keep prompting

Kyle