Use ChatGPT with web search to map a topic, find credible source links, and uncover promising angles before drafting.
Source episode · 04:20
How I AI: Farhad Manjoo's AI-Powered Writing Workflow for Research, Wordcraft, and Editingwith Claire Vo
04:20 to 10:40: Farhad Manjoo shows how he starts with a broad question, interrogates the synthesis, and opens the cited sources.
A compact research brief with the main positions, named people or organizations, direct source links, and several angles worth pursuing.
OpenAI conversational AI
Step by step
Follow the sequence once, then adapt the prompts, checks, and handoffs to your own setup.
4 steps
Turn the topic into a broad, answerable question. Include the position you are testing so the search can surface both the prevailing view and meaningful exceptions.
I am exploring an article about [topic]. What is the current consensus on [specific question], and who makes the strongest case for and against [position]? Search the web and link each major claim to its original source.
Scan the synthesis for the main arguments, named participants, and source quality. Note where the answer is specific enough to investigate and where it is only summarizing the obvious.
Organize that research into: the prevailing view, the strongest counterarguments, the people or organizations behind each position, and the original source links. Flag any claim supported only by a secondary or low-quality source.
Follow the most promising thread with narrower questions. Farhad moves from general tariff commentary to what people in the automotive industry have said, using conversation to expose angles a keyword search might miss.
Now focus on [industry, group, or consequence]. Who has commented publicly, what exactly did they argue, and what evidence did they use? Include direct links and suggest three questions that could reveal a less obvious angle.
Open the cited material and compare it with the synthesis. Capture the exact claim, context, date, and source you may use, then keep only leads that survive that check.
Create a source-check list for the claims above. For each one, show the claim, source URL, publication date, and what I need to confirm in the original before relying on it.
Turn an idea into a PRD, user stories, and a plan.
After the steps
How to recover when the loop fails and where human judgment helps.
Recover
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