Turn research into a brief without letting AI blur the sources.
Use AI for discovery and synthesis, but preserve the chain from claim → source → implication.
01Define the decision
Write the exact decision, audience, time horizon and what evidence would change your mind.
02Collect primary sources
Prefer vendor docs, filings, research papers, government data and original announcements.
03Extract claims with citations
Ask AI to separate factual claims, source links and uncertainty. Do not synthesize yet.
04Compare conflicts
Put disagreements side by side. Check dates, populations, definitions and methodology.
05Synthesize implications
Only after verification, turn evidence into patterns, options and decision implications.
06Write the brief
Use a short structure: question, evidence, interpretation, risks, recommendation, sources.
Best-suited tools
PerplexityBest for discovering current web sources and quickly orienting around a topic.NotebookLMBest for synthesizing a bounded set of sources you already trust.ClaudeUseful for long-form comparison, critique and brief drafting after evidence is collected.ChatGPTUseful for flexible synthesis, restructuring and converting verified evidence into a clear brief.
Prompt to use
Build a research brief from the sources below.
Rules:
- preserve source links next to each factual claim,
- separate facts from interpretation,
- flag conflicts between sources,
- do not fill missing information with assumptions,
- identify what is outdated or uncertain.
Output:
1. decision/question,
2. strongest evidence,
3. conflicting evidence,
4. implications,
5. risks and unknowns,
6. recommended next step,
7. source list.
SOURCES:
[PASTE SOURCES OR NOTES]
Useful checkDelete the recommendation section and see whether the evidence still tells a coherent story. If not, the brief may be conclusion-first rather than evidence-first.