AI Levels
The framework · v1

The seven levels

Each level is two things: how much you hand to AI, and the judgment habit that makes it safe to. You only earn a level when you have both.

Level 2

Collaborator

You give context, ask for revisions, and have AI critique your work. You use it weekly.

Signs you're here

  • You say things like "shorter" or "for my boss, not a friend"
  • You paste in your own draft to improve it
  • You ask it to explain its reasoning

The judgment habit

Check what matters: verify sources or uncertain claims before you act on them.

The trap

You re-explain yourself from scratch every single time.

Quest to move up

Build your first reusable setup

Find one work or life task you do every week. Turn it into a saved prompt or project so you never re-explain it.

I do this every week: [task]. Interview me with 5 questions about how I like it done. Then write me a reusable prompt I can paste each time, with [brackets] for what changes.

It worked when: You reuse it twice without rewriting it.

When to move up

Move up when you're tired of re-explaining the same background.

Tools today

Tools 2026-Q4 · updated quarterly
Any free chatbot with file uploadfree
"Flag what you're unsure about" in every promptfree