The Task layer is one sentence naming the document you want produced. "Help me with quotes" is not a task. "Turn these site notes into a quote draft" is. The difference decides whether you get a finished thing or a conversation about quoting.
Key takeaways
- One sentence. Name the output document, not the topic.
- Use a verb that produces something: turn, draft, extract, summarise, reply, list.
- One task per Stack. Two tasks in one request produces two half-finished outputs.
- If you cannot name the document, the job is a decision and it should stay with a person.
- The Task layer is the fastest layer to fix and the most commonly botched.
Weak against strong
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Help me with quotes | Turn these site notes into a quote draft |
| Write something for the customer | Draft a reply that answers the two questions in this email |
| Do my weekly report | Turn these figures into the Monday report using last week's structure |
| Sort out my emails | Classify this enquiry and draft a reply |
| Make this better | Rewrite this scope section so each line names the work and the material |
| Tell me about AI for roofing | List the repeated documents a roofing business produces each week |
Every strong version names a deliverable. Every weak version names a subject.
The verb matters
Verbs that produce: turn, draft, extract, classify, summarise, list, rewrite, reconcile. Verbs that produce conversation: help, explore, consider, think about, discuss, advise.
An assistant given a conversational verb will hold a conversation, and it will be a good one, and you will finish it with nothing you can send.
One task per Stack
Asking for a quote and a customer email in the same request gets you a compromised version of both. Build two Stacks. They share the Context and most of the Rules, so the second one takes minutes.
When the task is actually a decision
Some jobs cannot be named as a document because they are judgement calls: what to charge, which repair method, whether to take the job, what a patient needs. Those stay human. What you can name is the document that carries the decision, which is a different and entirely safe task.
| The decision | The task you can name |
|---|---|
| What to charge for this variation | Draft the variation notice using the agreed rate and scope |
| Which repair method | List the questions the site inspection needs to answer |
| Whether to take the job | Summarise the enquiry against our stated service criteria |
Where it sits in the Stack
Task is layer two, above Context and below Source, Rules and Output. Read the full Context Stack.
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Frequently asked questions
How specific does the task need to be?
Specific enough that two people reading it would produce the same kind of document. If the sentence leaves the format open, the Output layer has to carry it, and it is cleaner to name the document here.
Why did AI answer a different question?
Usually a Task layer naming a topic instead of a deliverable. Rename it to the document you want. See the full diagnostic.
Can one Stack handle several tasks?
Keep one task per Stack. The layers underneath are reusable, so extra Stacks are cheap, and each one stays reliable.
What if the job changes slightly each time?
Then the variable part belongs in the Source layer as job-specific input. The Task sentence stays fixed.
Should the task mention the audience?
The audience belongs in the Context layer. Repeating it here adds length without changing output.
How do you pick the first task to build?
The one that repeats weekly, already has written inputs, and gets checked by a person before it leaves the business. Use the task selection guide.