I felt that way when I first started using it. No manual, no guide, just a blank box and a blinking cursor. It reminded me of the early days of the Internet when bookstores sold “how to get online” books that were somehow more confusing than just clicking around.
Generative AI changes the idea of documentation. The official docs still matter, but these tools can also explain how they see their own abilities in real time.
Sometimes the simplest way to learn how to use AI… is to ask the AI.
What to ask (and why it helps)
If you want to know how to work with AI tools like ChatGPT, just ask:
- Does it understand a language, library, or framework you’re using?
- Does it know a technique you’re considering?
- Where does it struggle, and what kinds of tasks does it do poorly?
A quick example
While working on a 3D model, I noticed both ChatGPT and Claude struggling with spatial-reasoning tasks. I asked why, and they each confirmed that this is an area where they’re not strong. That quick check saved me a lot of back-and-forth.
And it goes even further. If you want to write better prompts, the model can help you write better prompts. It feels odd, but it works.
These tools can even reflect on their own output. If they write code or a paragraph, you can challenge them: “Is that the best way?” More than once, they’ve admitted my suggestion was better and rewritten the solution.