Context Blocks: The Magic Paragraph That Changes Everything
We all know that the more context we give AI, the better the responses are going to be.
But it’s a lot of effort to start explaining everything.
Sometimes we just need something done quickly, so we give less context, and we compromise our result.
In the video, I show how to make this process a lot easier.
The magic is called context blocks. I'll show you how I use them and, how I easily create them.
What is a context block
OpenAI calls them context blocks.
Different people call it different things, but the idea is that it’s a paragraph or a page that gives rich context about my project, my client, my service, my business, or my way of doing things.
I can drop it into any prompt, wherever I am, whatever process I’m working on, and whichever AI I’m using.
That same context block comes with me.
Why it makes a difference
As an experiment, I ran the same prompt with and without my context block.
Once, just asking a question. Then again, attaching my context block, a simple text file.
I can do this in ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, Perplexity, or Google Gemini, it doesn't matter. Same magic everywhere!
My question was:
“I have a client with an architectural firm based in regional Victoria, about 25 staff. What’s the best way to explain profit versus cash flow to them?”
Without the context block, the response was nice—it gave definitions, examples, and why it matters.
Then I ran the same prompt again but added my context block. A simple drag and drop of my file.
This time, the response included my client's name, examples and considerations that are relevant to them, context from their world, like the council payment cycles and more.
It became much more specific and a lot more useful and closer to what I would actually end up using.
Same effort, and a much better result.
How I create a context block
My context block in this case is a simple text file with about 500 words. Sometimes I make them 1,000 words. Depending on the complexity.
You might think: “Oh, that must be a lot of work to create them.”
But it doesn’t have to be.
I create my context blocks in three steps.
Step 1: I get the AI to ask me a series of thoughtful, nuanced questions about my client, my project, or my business.
Step 2: I ask it to review my responses and see if we’ve missed anything important or if something doesn’t make sense.
Step 3: I ask it to write the context block for me.
Done!
The trick that makes it easy
Typing takes time, so I use the Dictate button, which is different from the voice mode button.
Dictate just transcribes everything I say into the prompt box.
In Voice mode, the AI would reply.
Here I want dictate, I am not seeking a conversation.
I speak, and I can pause, think, change my mind, or be quite unstructured. It doesn't matter.
The AI won’t interrupt or start talking back to me.
When I finish, I send it as my response, and the AI moves on to the next question.
When I’ve answered them all, I move to step 2: ask the AI to review all my responses and see if we missed anything, and then, step 3: I ask the AI to write my context block.
With dictate it is easy to go deep and nuanced.
Keep and reuse it
Once it’s written, I save that context block in a text or Word document.
I save it somewhere where it will be really easy for me to drag and drop it into any new chat or app whenever I need it.
If it’s for a team project, I store it where others can access it too.
I also keep the original chat where I created the context block.
This way, if something changes, I just go back to that chat, describe the update, and generate a new context block.
No need to start all over again.
Why it’s worth it
This can make a massive difference in the quality of responses you get from AI.
You don’t need to explain the context every time. You just bring it with you.
It does mean adding a small step to your other work process, creating a context block for new clients, projects, or context in your business.
But it’s absolutely worth it.
Let me know how you go.
—-
Inbal Rodnay
Guiding Firms in Adopting AI and Automation
Keynote speaker | AI Workshops | Executive briefings | Consulting CIO
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