Shortly is on the verge of becoming a tool so good at giving you what you actually want when the AI writes for you your productivity will be through the roof.
This new instruct command is just the first step towards this goal, and it's quite a powerful command you'll definitely want to learn how to make the most of. It gives Shortly an even greater lead against the other AI writers, especially for long-form content. Check out my Shortly Compendium for a glimpse at what you can accomplish with it.
And this means it can significantly improve the productivity of your content creation workflow — which is the whole goal of using AI to assist with writing, isn't it? If you don't use ShortlyAI you're missing out on the best AI writer on the market today.
What is /instruct?
Think of the instruct command as if you're giving instructions to your AI writing partner. And in this particular case you can ask for anything. Do you want an intro paragraph for your story? Or perhaps some product descriptions for your e-commerce store? Yes, these are possible -- and way, way more.
Ad copy, product descriptions, and nearly anything you want to ask for are possible.
Stop. It's important to understand this command is in beta — meaning you'll sometimes get some wonky results, or it'll just go off the rails. But it works most of the time and it's fantastic.
Context in /instruct
If you have followed my other guides on ShortlyAI, you know understanding context is important. You know that normally context is the article brief, title, and everything above the cursor.
You also know that /commands are different. They don’t use any context except what is inside the [] of the command.
Except /instruct is different. It’s almost the inverse of that. Just like the other commands, instruct uses everything inside the [] but also the content above the command — and NOT the article brief or title.
This gives /instruct the unique ability to do some real interesting things. Before I better explain these with some examples — don't forget about the context cutoff ruler. It'll be very useful with the /instruct command since it uses inline context (the content above the command).
Context Cutoff Works Here Too
Since instruct takes into account the content above the command, you’ll need a way to control what is used. That’s where the magical “context cutoff ruler” comes in handy.
Use it at the point where you want to stop the instruct command from using content. Perhaps at the point where a sub-section of your article starts. Or where you need to stop the content above the command from interfering.
Alright, now for the examples/demos.
Examples of /instruct in action
Product Description
When you need some copy for your landing page, magazine spread, or even a really in-depth article you're writing you can use the instruct command like so:
/instruct [please write a product description about Birdie, a revolutionary new backyard bird feeder with built-in 360-degree camera, a mobile app, and is squirrel proof]
Results: "The Birdie is the world's first "smart feeder" that is designed to help people enjoy nature's small gifts without being eaten alive by squirrels. This revolutionary backyard bird feeder solves the age-old dilemma of not being able to enjoy watching and feeding birds from afar because you are scared of getting eaten alive by a squirrel. The Birdie has a built-in 360 degree camera, mobile app for monitoring, and is impossible for even the most resourceful squirrel to get into!"
Service Description
A service description is for local services like electricians, plumber, doctors, etc. To get some copy for their homepage to sell their services and stand out from the competition. Shortly can help you out like this:
/instruct [please write a service description about our reliable electrician services in Sydney Australia]
Results: "Every home is different and each project, milestone, or challenge presents a new opportunity for innovation. We're a team of electricians that have been working in Sydney for nearly three decades. Our depth of knowledge allows us to offer our customers solutions tailored specifically for their unique circumstances."
Ad Copy
When you need some ad copy quick to meet that deadline before a new ad is set to go live, Shortly can help if you just ask, like so:
/instruct [please write ad copy about Birdie, a revolutionary new backyard bird feeder with built-in 360-degree camera, a mobile app, and is squirrel proof]
Results: "The best bird feeder on the market? Probably.
Birdie is the first ever squirrel-proof, motion detection birdfeeder with a built-in 360 degree HD camera and mobile app. Get up to date video of your feathered friends in real time with our easy to use app.
If you love your backyard birds as much as we do, get yourself a Birdie today!"
Poems
Need something creative? Maybe for a friend, loved one, school assignment -- or perhaps you create cards for a living -- Shortly can write poems pretty well too.
Yep! It's pretty good. Here's an example:
/instruct [Please write a poem about birds and Spring weather]
Results: "I am reborn
springing from the earth
shoots in my feet
refreshing my soul.
My eyes gleam with joy,
a carefree song is on my lips,
my wings are open and ready to fly."
Experiment
Instruct is a universal "open" command ready for you to pass instructions to your AI assistant. You should be able to ask for all sorts of content — so experiment. Try all sorts of requests to see what you'll get.
And if you're in the AI Content Dojo email list and you're having difficulties, shoot me an email. I'd love to see what you're trying to get from the AI and try to help.
Not a member? Join free, no spam. Promise.
Conclusion
When using the instruct command, you can ask for anything. Experiment, see what sorts of content you can get back. As I mention at the beginning, this is but step 1. Shortly will improve this capability drastically over the coming weeks.
So if an experiment doesn't go how you hoped it would, try again in a few days. And if you ever see a prompt asking to rate the results — please do. This helps Shortly polish everything to be better for you.
Take care!