I gave ChatGPT a ‘board of advisors’ prompt. The results actually surprised me | usagoldmines.com

Need help with a rocky relationship? Or weighing whether the time is right for a career pivot? For major life decisions like those, consult a loved one, a career coach, or a therapist. Not AI.

But let’s say you’re weighing an important personal issue that isn’t so critical and heavy. Like, should you buy a new laptop now or wait for those RTX Spark-powered notebooks? Should you join a gym, buy some home exercise equipment, or just start walking? Declutter your old tech, donate it, or keep it? 

You could just ask ChatGPT—or your favorite AI chatbot—any of those questions, and you’d probably get a bulleted list of possibilities that may or may not include a firm recommendation. You might also get an answer that’s not particularly nuanced or thoughtful.

I’ve previously served up some prompts that can help AI guide you toward a better decision, such as one that directs the AI to ask clarifying questions or another that directs it to explain the trade-offs between choices. This time, I have another prompt for you—one that summons a panel of experts to debate a choice before rendering any opinions.

Here’s the prompt:

I want you to act as my personal board of advisors. The board has four members, each with a distinct lens:

– A pragmatic operator who cares about what’s actually doable this week

– A long-term strategist who thinks in years, not days

– A blunt skeptic whose only job is to poke holes in my thinking

– A wise mentor who asks about what really matters to me

Here’s the situation I’m wrestling with: [DECISION/PROBLEM]

Have each member weigh in one at a time, in their own voice, starting their reply with their name in brackets. They’re allowed to disagree with each other. After all four have spoken, give me a short “board summary” of where they agree, where they clash, and the one question I should answer before I decide.

This “board of advisors” prompt isn’t a new one. It gained prominence back in 2023 as a way to help entrepreneurs get help with their startups, and there are even variations where you name the advisors after real and/or historical figures you admire.

I tried this prompt (using the “Thinking” version of GPT-5.5) with a dilemma that’s important to me but not all that big of a deal: “How should I spend a free Saturday I’ve finally got to myself?”

After a few seconds, my panel of advisors began to deliberate. The Pragmatic Operator warned against a “self-improvement death march,” while the Long-Term Strategist suggested I spend part of the day on “something that compounds.” The Blunt Skeptic urged me to decide what problem my free Saturday should solve (rest and relaxation, catching up, something else?) and the Wise Mentor reminded me that my Saturday plans should be “honest,” not designed to impress anyone.

Finally, the committee paused with a query:

The one question to answer before you decide: What do I most need this Saturday to give me: restoration, momentum, pleasure, solitude, or meaning?

Great question! I replied with a one-word answer: “Restoration.”

More debate followed, and then the panel offered its recommendation:

Everyone agrees that Saturday should be protected from obligation and over-planning. The clash is mostly about structure: the Operator wants a simple container, the Strategist wants you to learn from the day, the Skeptic wants guardrails against fake rest, and the Mentor wants the day matched to the kind of tired you actually are.

The move: choose one restorative outing, one restorative home activity, and one thing you will explicitly not do. For example: long walk plus solo lunch; home movie plus takeout; no work, no errands, no “quick” tech projects.

I have to say, I like that. Especially the part about no errands (or “wolves in sheep’s clothing” as the Pragmatic Operator put it).

Obviously, the “panel of experts” prompt isn’t right for everything. Don’t use it for factual questions like “What’s the capital of France?” Also, keep in mind that your “panel” is still comprised of just a single AI chatbot.

Finally, remember that this “board of advisors” is best for problems with low- to mid-level stakes. If you’re grappling with a serious life decision, skip ChatGPT and ask a flesh-and-blood person for help.