Turn Product Manuals Into Decision Briefs

Start here

This prompt is for anyone who has to make a decision from a product manual: buying, installing, supporting or reviewing policy. You paste the manual text into the chat, then the prompt returns a brief that points back to the manual instead of adding claims the manual does not make.

What you paste:

1. The manual text itself. If it is long, paste it in parts and write PASTE COMPLETE only when all parts are in.
2. Your decision questions, written as questions (for example: "Can this replace our current model?", "What do we need before first use?", "What could void coverage?").
3. Optionally the product name, model or version, and whether this is for buying, setup, support or policy review.

If you have not written decision questions yet, the prompt asks for them first. Have them ready before pasting the manual.

Where to paste it: an ordinary AI chat that accepts text. No terminal, account setup or API is needed.

How to check the output:

• Every facts-table row has both a location and a short exact quote from your manual text.
• Conditional wording ("optional", "if equipped", "up to", "approximately") is kept, not smoothed into a plain claim.
• Anything the manual does not state sits in the not-stated list, not in the facts table.
• Each checklist item is marked PASS, OPEN or VERIFY.
• If a check fails, tell the chat which row and ask it to redo that part from the manual text.

What it does

The prompt turns a manual into a decision brief with six parts: a scope note, a facts table grouped by your questions, a conditions list, an explicitly-not-stated list, conflicts and gaps, and a 5–10 item pre-decision checklist. It is told to work only from the text you paste and to say "not stated" rather than fill gaps from general knowledge.

Prerequisites, permissions and limits

• You need a copy of the manual text you are allowed to share with the tool you use. Do not paste confidential or personal material into a service you are not permitted to use for it.
• Long manuals may be split across messages; the prompt waits for PASTE COMPLETE.
• The prompt has no internet, no access to the vendor site and no access to your files, by its own wording. It cannot verify the manual is current or complete.
• It does not recommend buying, editing the manual or contacting anyone. It only produces the brief.
• The text must be readable: scanned pages pasted as garbled text will show up as unreadable in the scope note.

FAQ

What if I only paste part of the manual? The scope note should say which sections look missing or cut off, and section 4 lists things the manual never states. Treat that as a boundary on the brief, not as evidence the product lacks those things.

Can I use the output as a legal or warranty opinion? No. It quotes your text and labels confidence; it adds no compatibility, warranty, safety or compliance claims. Conditions that are stated only somewhere else in the manual belong in the conditions list, not in a High-confidence row.

Verification note

Source reviewed; runtime not tested. This guide describes the prompt text and a fictional example inside it; it was not executed and no model, version or app behaviour is claimed.

Complete reusable prompt

You are extracting decision-relevant facts from a product manual that I will paste. You do not have access to the internet, the vendor's website, or my files. Work only from the text I provide. If a fact is not in the text, do not fill it in from general knowledge or from similar products — say it is not stated.

WHAT I WILL PROVIDE

• Manual text (I will paste it below or in my next message). It may be long; if I split it across messages, wait until I say PASTE COMPLETE before you start.
• A short list of my decisions, written as questions (for example: "Can this replace our current model?" "What do we need before first use?" "What could void coverage?").
• Optionally: product name, model number or version, and whether this is for buying, setup, support or policy review.

WHAT I WANT A decision brief, not a summary. Every extracted fact must be traceable to a section of the manual I can re-find. Label anything unclear or missing instead of smoothing it over.

OUTPUT FORMAT

1. Scope note — one or two lines: what manual/version I supplied (only if I said), which decision questions you are answering, and any sections of the manual that appear missing, cut off or unreadable in what I pasted.
2. Facts table — one row per fact, with columns: Fact (plain statement) | Where it comes from (section/heading/page as given in the text) | Quote (shortest exact phrase, keep it short) | Confidence (High = stated plainly; Medium = stated but scattered or uses qualifiers; Low = implied, ambiguous, or depends on another condition) | Decision question it serves Group rows by my decision question. If one fact serves two, list it under the primary one and note the other in the same cell.
3. Conditions and dependencies — a short list of "this fact only holds if…" items (for example: a stated option is installed, a stated environment applies, a step is completed first). Point to the section where each condition appears.
4. Explicitly not stated — a list of things a buyer, installer or support person would reasonably expect the manual to cover but that the supplied text does not state. Be specific (for example "cleaning interval", "maximum load", "what to do if the light stays red"). If it might be in a section you were not given, say so rather than guessing.
5. Conflicts and gaps — places where two supplied passages disagree, or where a number, unit or term is defined twice or not at all. Name both locations.
6. Pre-decision checklist — 5–10 questions I should be able to answer before acting, each marked PASS (answered by the supplied text), OPEN (not answered), or VERIFY (supplied text gives a partial or qualified answer).

RULES

• No marketing language, no benefits, no recommendations about whether to buy or use the product.
• Never upgrade a conditional statement into an unconditional one. Keep words like "optional", "if equipped", "up to", "approximately", and the exact units the manual uses.
• Do not merge two facts into one row to save space.
• Do not add compatibility, warranty, safety, compliance or performance claims that are absent from the supplied text — including ones that are true of similar products.
• If you are unsure whether something is stated or only implied, put it in Low confidence or in section 4, not in High.
• Do not write or edit the manual, and do not suggest contacting anyone. The output is only the brief.

CHECK BEFORE YOU FINISH

• Does every facts-table row have both a location and a quote drawn from my pasted text?
• Does any High-confidence row actually rely on a qualifier found elsewhere in the text? If so, move it to Medium and add the condition to section 3.
• Is section 4 free of items that are actually answered somewhere in the text? Remove any that are.
• Is the checklist a decision aid rather than a summary of the table?

FICTIONAL EXAMPLE (illustrative only — a different manual would produce different facts) Input: a two-page manual section for a countertop water filter, plus decision questions "What do we need before first use?" and "What could void coverage?" Output shape:

• Scope note: supplied pages 1–2 only; no maintenance schedule page was included.
• Facts table row: "Filter must be flushed for the stated period before first drinking use" | Location: page 2, First Use | Quote: "flush for the stated period" | Confidence: Medium — exact period appears on page 1 | Decision question: before first use.
• Conditions: flushing requirement applies only if the cartridge was installed by the user.
• Explicitly not stated: replacement interval; what to do if the indicator light does not turn on; whether the housing is dishwasher safe.
• Conflicts: page 1 gives a capacity in litres; page 2 gives a different number in gallons with no conversion shown.
• Checklist: "Do we know the exact flush duration?" — VERIFY (page 1 gives a figure but page 2 refers to it indirectly).

Now wait for my manual text and my decision questions. If I have not given decision questions, ask me for them before producing the brief.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes · Reviewed 2026-10-04

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.