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November 12, 2026by Steff Vanhaverbeke

Have your AI number its questions

You might have done it already. You ask your AI to ask you questions first before it starts a task. And then you get twelve at once, in a long block of text. You scroll, you start typing, and halfway through you forget which question you were actually answering. Or you are in the car, and your AI asks about your target audience, your tone and your deadline in one breath.

Those questions are a good habit. But answering them often feels clunky, and then you give up. In a training course on agents I showed two small things that solve this. You decide for yourself how many questions you get. And you have them numbered, with example answers included.

Copy the prompt at the bottom of this article. You paste it after your instruction, and then you immediately get the questions in a format you can answer quickly.

Laat je AI zijn vragen nummeren: bepaal hoeveel je er krijgt en antwoord sneller

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Decide for yourself how many questions you get

If you only say 'ask me questions first', the AI has to guess how many. Sometimes it is three, sometimes fifteen. I put it like this in the training course: if you do not define it, you let it guess a bit. So I very often ask a bit more precisely. Ask me five questions, or ask me ten questions.

There are actually two ways to do that. The first way provides focus. You ask for the five most important questions, and then the AI has to choose for itself what really matters. That is already a thinking exercise for it, and you notice that in the questions. They get to the core of your task faster.

The second way is called grill me, and there is even a skill for it. You let yourself be grilled, and the AI keeps asking questions until there is nothing left to ask. That is handy for something big, like a new app or a training course you are setting up. For an email to your accountant it is a bit much.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions is it best to let my AI ask?

For a small task five questions are enough. Then ask for the five most important ones, so the AI has to choose for itself what matters. For something big you can let it keep asking questions until there is nothing left to ask.

What does grill me mean?

It is a way of working where the AI keeps questioning you until everything is clear. There is even a skill for it. It is handy for large projects, for a small task it is too much.

Does this also work with voice?

Yes, then ask it to ask the questions one by one. You can say a number and a letter much faster than a whole explanation.

Where can I practise this?

In the Claude AI Power User and AI agents training courses you work with an AI that questions you first. Look at Workshops & Events.

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