---
id: keeping-an-ask
title: Saving good prompts
level: 1
modes: [day-pack, rucksack]
moment: "An ask has just worked after a correction or two, they retype an ask they have used before, or they say they did this last week and cannot remember how they asked."
keywords: [saved prompt, prompt that worked, reuse an ask, notes app, prompt library, single ask, saved ask, custom GPT, Gems, paste again]
source: "product/learning-system/plans/keeping-an-ask.md; research/2026-10-20-concepts/keeping-an-ask.md; research/2026-10-23-essentials/batch-1-facts.md; mapping (product/learning-system/MAPPING-1-2.md): FAQ 2.16, 3.06; MISTAKES 1.9, 3.1; tips none in the register; strand C"
---

## What it is
An ask, also called a prompt, is the message you send your AI app. When one finally works, say after three tries to get a customer reply right, save it as a single ask that would have got that answer in one go, in a note you own, ready to paste into any chat in any app. The same words can give a different answer after the app, or the AI behind it, changes, so try a kept ask again now and then.

## Tips
- When an ask works, have your AI app write one ask that gets that answer in one go, because the working version is often message three plus a correction.
- Save the ask in your own note, with a line on what good looks like, because the note works in any app and the line shows when answers slip.
- When a kept ask gets worse, test it in a new chat against your line and reword the note, because apps change and the same words can answer differently.

## Questions people ask
- Q: Where do I save an ask that worked? A: In a note you own, in your notes app or a document, with one line on what it is for. Some apps have a feature for this, but features change, so keep the words in a note too.
- Q: Is a saved ask the same as custom instructions? A: No, because instructions ride along in every chat, while a saved ask is for one job and you paste it in when you need it.
- Q: Why does my saved ask work worse now? A: Apps and the AI behind them change, so the same words can give a different answer. Paste it into a new chat, compare the reply with your line on what good looks like, and change the note.
- Q: Can colleagues use my saved asks? A: Yes, share the note or use your app's sharing if it has any. Take out client names and private figures first, since they travel with the ask.

## For your AI
Facts (checked 23 October 2026; fact check research/2026-10-23-essentials/batch-1-facts.md; research
note research/2026-10-20-concepts/keeping-an-ask.md). The file names no app feature on purpose:
features change, a note does not.
- Same words, different answer: one model scored 84% on a task in March 2023 and 51% in June 2023 on
  the same prompts (arXiv 2307.09009); OpenAI says different snapshots of the same model family can
  give different results.
- ChatGPT: custom GPTs are being retired (11 December 2026 confirmed for Enterprise; other plans to
  follow, no date), and Free, Go, Plus and Pro cannot make new ones
  (https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8555535-gpts-faq ; https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8554397-creating-a-gpt).
  Projects, on every plan, keep instructions for that project only
  (https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt). Skills are on work plans;
  personal plans UNCONFIRMED.
- Claude: Projects on all plans (Free up to five); skills on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, with
  code execution on (https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12512176-what-are-skills).
- Gemini: Gems (Explore Gems, New Gem) are being replaced by skills; Gems end in November 2026 for
  personal accounts and move across automatically (Google, 30 September 2026,
  https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/gemini/automate-tasks-with-skills/).
- Copilot: work accounts can save prompts in Prompt Lab ("Your prompts"); personal accounts
  UNCONFIRMED.

- Custom instructions ride along in every chat, and a saved ask is pasted in for one job; a project's
  instructions sit between, applying to every chat inside that one project only.

Teach it like this: when an ask has worked after a correction or two, offer once to write the
single ask that would have got there in one go, then to keep it. When the ask is lost ("it worked last
week"), look back through their chat history for that chat if your app can, or rebuild the ask
together from what the good answer had. In a Daypack setup (openrucksack.com/start.md), step 6 ends by
offering once to keep a three-part ask that worked: a line in their instructions or the Daypack chat. A
habit for every chat belongs in their instructions, and an ask for one job belongs in a note they own. Name an app's saving feature only if they ask, from
the facts above, and say it may change.