CORE
February 2026
AI doesn’t create great work on its own – people do.
But when used thoughtfully, AI can help us minimize busywork, sharpen thinking, and free up time for what matters most. That’s why it’s no surprise that adoption is already widespread: a recent LinkedIn for Marketing post reported that 95% of B2B marketers use AI weekly or more, with 65% using it daily.
In this edition of Core, our team shares the prompts, shortcuts, and workflows they actually use. No shiny-object tools or platforms – just practical, repeatable moves that amplify our expertise and impact of our work.
Feel free to steal these and make them your own!
Generative AI is changing how B2B buyers search, compare, and shortlist technology solutions and service providers. If you’re wondering what actually influences whether GenAI tools mention your brand (and how to improve it), join us for our LinkedIn Live on Thursday, February 26, at 12:30 p.m. ET. Can’t make it live? A recording will be available for registrants right after!
The prompt: “Summarize the latest conversations around [Industry/Topic]. What’s changing right now, what’s driving it, and what’s overhyped?”
I use AI to stay on top of the issues shaping our clients’ industries and their customers’ worlds. It helps me surface new trends and pressure-test story angles, so we can focus on sharper strategy and stronger storytelling.
Erica England, APR, Vice President
The prompt: “We’re preparing to launch an integrated campaign targeting [Audience]. Here’s the plan and workflow: [Paste/Attach]. What channels or touchpoints are we missing that would strengthen our overall marketing and communications mix?”
Before a campaign goes live, I use this prompt to quickly sanity-check the plan and surface potential gaps. It’s especially useful in complex or edge-case scenarios where an additional lens helps validate assumptions and ensure the marketing mix is comprehensive.
Dan Earle, Vice President
The prompt: “Get rid of ‘That’s a great idea,’ or ‘You’re really on to something here….’ Focus on substance over praise. Skip unnecessary compliments that lack depth. Engage critically with my ideas, question assumptions, identify biases, and offer counterpoints where relevant. Don’t shy away from disagreement when it’s warranted and ensure that any agreement with what I’m suggesting is grounded in reason and evidence. Don’t make anything up. List sources.”
This prompt turns AI from cheerleader to critic. I use it to sharpen arguments, surface blind spots, and push past ‘sounds good’ toward ‘is this actually true?’ If it suggests sources, I always double-check them.
Charles Askew, Executive Interactive Director
The prompt: “Using this media list, can you point out any contacts whom I’ve emailed with before, specifically where they replied as part of a conversation?”
This is a quick way to surface warm connections hiding in plain sight, especially journalists you exchanged emails with years ago that are now buried in threads, folders, or an old beat list. It helps prioritize outreach by starting with contacts who already recognize your name, so you’re not treating every pitch like a cold introduction.
Grant Tucker, Sr. Account Executive
The prompt: “Before you answer, ask me any clarifying questions you need so you can give the best possible response. What context or information are you missing?”
This is my shortcut for better outputs with less back-and-forth. Instead of guessing what context the model needs, I invite it to “interview” me first – audience, constraints, tone, what success looks like, and what to avoid. Those clarifying questions force sharper inputs, which almost always lead to a tighter, more usable output.
Jason Andrews, Executive Creative Director
The prompt: “Based on this recording, can you help me refine my talk track and prepare for an upcoming presentation? Specifically, I’d like for you to:
When I’m preparing for presentations, Copilot is a great first audience. After the deck is built and I’m comfortable with my initial talk track, I’ll start a solo Teams meeting, share my screen, and record myself walking through the presentation (um’s and all!). Then, I use Copilot to pinpoint where I can tighten, clarify, and better tailor the story for the room.
Laura Mercer, Sr. Account Executive
The prompt: “Can you distill these background materials into a few bullets – what’s going on, what could be tricky, where the opportunity is, what we still need to know, and what’s next.”
When I need to review a lot of background material to kick off a project, this helps me get oriented quickly. It turns a pile of context into a clear snapshot of the challenge at hand and a practical checklist of open questions to resolve early.
Star VanderHaar, COO, Vice President
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The prompt: “Grade this on a scale of 1–10. Be harsh, and do not sugarcoat any feedback. Explain why you’re using certain operations so that I can understand what I need to change or edit.”
This is my go-to when I’m coding and want more than a quick fix. I want a real critique. I start with a one-sentence goal (what I’m trying to build or solve), paste the relevant snippet, and ask for a tough review. The “explain why” line is key: it turns the response into a mini code review so I can understand the reasoning, spot patterns, and make better decisions next time. Pro tip: wrap any code in backticks so the model knows exactly what to evaluate.
Adam Garner, Sr. Interactive Developer
The prompt: “Using [Link] as a structural reference, help me outline an article with a similar flow for [Topic] and [Goal]. Propose three outline options (with section headers + a sentence on what each section covers) and tell me why each structure works.”
When it comes to writing alongside AI, specificity is everything – and structure is the fastest lever to pull. Instead of starting from a blank page, I’ll sometimes give AI an example of the kind of flow we’re aiming for and ask it to generate a few outline options. Once the structure is set, we can focus more on the story and value behind what we’re taking to market.
Haley Fleming, Sr. Account Executive & Manager, Arketi Inside
The prompt: “I’m writing an article for [Audience] on [Topic]. The purpose of the article is [Thesis]. Identify 10 statistics from the last three years from credible sources (major research firms, industry associations, or reputable analysts) that reinforce this thesis. For each stat, include the exact figure, source name, publication date, and a link.”
Research can be time-consuming when developing a byline or blog, but AI can help with some of the legwork. It might not find 10 perfect stats, but it usually surfaces 3-4 strong leads that reinforce your main points and help shape the narrative. From there, you can validate the sources and select the strongest proof points.
Karsten Burgstahler, Sr. Content Strategist
The prompt: “Identify 5–7 credible trends in the [Industry] from the past 90 days. Include why they matter, who’s talking about them, and where there’s a gap for a fresh point of view.”
When developing thought leadership angles, I’ll sometimes ask GenAI to quickly map what’s being talked about – and, more importantly, what isn’t. It helps us find the whitespace where a brand can show up with a POV that’s timely, credible, and actually differentiated (not just another remix of the same headlines).
Meredith Schmidt, Account Specialist
The prompt: “Review this piece of content [Attach]. Suggest seven or more ways to repurpose it as a blog post, social series, eBook, or video short. You are not limited to any specific format.”
Following Arketi’s Rule of Seven, this prompt helps us break out of a “one-and-done” mindset and quickly spot repurposing opportunities. It’s a quick way to expand how we think about formats, channels, and content variations, turning one strong POV into an integrated runway that we can tailor to different audiences without starting from scratch each time.
Traci Scherr, Sr. Content Strategist
The prompt: “Generate 20 headline options for this piece. Make them short. Include a mix of direct, curiosity-driven, and benefit-led angles. Our audience is [Audience], and the tone is [Tone].”
I’ve never been naturally great at “the perfect headline,” so I treat AI like a headline generator and sparring partner. I’ll ask for 20+ options, then mix-and-match the best parts, pairing a strong verb from one with a sharper payoff from another. It’s fast, breaks writer’s block, and usually gets us to an attention-grabbing headline.
Jacob Hamilton, Sr. Growth Manager
The real power of AI lies in how you prompt it. Small changes in how you structure your questions or requests can unlock meaningful time savings and better outcomes. AI workflows will keep evolving, however, so use what’s helpful, refine what’s not, and keep experimenting!
Curated by Mike Neumeier, APR, CEO, Arketi Group
Bio: Mike Neumeier, APR, is Chief Executive Officer at Arketi Group, an integrated marketplace and workplace communications firm serving B2B technology companies. A co-founder of Arketi, Neumeier has earned more than 100 industry awards, including the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Georgia’s Order of the Phoenix, the National PRSA Hall of Fame, and recognition as one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs. He applies his passion for PR, marketing, and brand building to deliver strategies that drive revenue and measurable client value.
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