Links

Live:             https://slides.com/mike-1/button/live

Later:             https://slides.com/mike-1/button/

HAL

2001

Principal Technical Writer

Product Documentation

Mission

• Complete accurate documentation

Pixabay CC0

Background

Content Design

We help users make decisions

https://slides.com/mike-1/button

We want to "unblock" users

Our style guides drive "helpful" text

Figma and Microsoft

Figma: UX Writers create markdown skills for agents

https://slides.com/mike-1/button

If AI were a teenager

• Teenagers

Mindset for AI

Fantasy Football

Who should I start?

Better answer: it depends

Three tier model

How AI can help with content design

1.  Start with a style guide
2.  Set up instructions
3.  Pull content from the style guide
4.  Organize the knowledge in AI
5.  Test the steps locally
6.  Identify problems
7.  Update the style guide
8.  Automate updates

Start with a Style Guide

• Designed for humans
• Content design skills for AI

Skills

• Well, sort of

• Well, sort of

• a reusable capability that can be invoked to perform a particular kind of task

Make it "easy" for ourselves

1.  Know your product
2. Set up instructions
3.  One easy breath
4.  Two thoughts
5.  Minimize need for docs
6.  Know your audience
7.  Know your stakeholders
8.  Start with the easy stuff
9.  Harder stuff: do your homework
10.  Use style guides (details)

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AI models -- Best practices

• Governing instructions
• Details in separate files

Searching the database

Make it "easy" for ourselves

• instructions.md

What we've done

• 30 different distinct pages

OMG AI

1.  Know your product
2. "Don't Make Me Think"
3.  Pull content from your style guide
4.  Minimize need for docs
5.  Know your audience
6.  Know your stakeholders
7.  Start with the easy stuff
8.  Harder stuff: do your homework
9.  Use style guides (details)

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Convert your style guide

• Format only

• Emerging standard for AI: Markdown

Conversion

HTML to Markdown

OMG AI

1.  Know your product
2. "Don't Make Me Think"
3.  Pull content from your style guide
4. Organize the knowledge for AI
5.  
6.  Minimize need for docs
7.  Know your audience
8.  Know your stakeholders
9.  Start with the easy stuff
10.  Harder stuff: do your homework
11.  Use style guides (details)

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Structure your instructions

• Straightforward set of steps

• Reference to a directory of "skills"

Before you deploy

1.  Know your product
2. "Don't Make Me Think"
3.  Pull content from your style guide
4. Organize the knowledge for AI
5. Test steps locally
6.  
7.  Minimize need for docs
8.  Know your audience
9.  Know your stakeholders
10.  Start with the easy stuff
11.  Harder stuff: do your homework
12.  Use style guides (details)

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Tip: pinned instructions

Formalize the Agent

Test time!

Avoid "hallucinations"

1.  Know your product
2. "Don't Make Me Think"
3.  One easy breath
4.  Two thoughts
5.  Minimize need for docs
6.  Test edge cases

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Test Time, Part 2

Big picture

Style guide

Instructions and Skills

AI

Agent

Style Guide

Remember the BSoD

Potential solutions

For the record