What is a second brain, and why does it work with AI?

An AI assistant only becomes truly useful when it knows your context: your business, your customers, your agreements, how you work. A second brain is your own collection of notes and documents holding that context, so your assistant can build on it every time.

What goes in it

• Who you are, what you do and how you like to work.
• Your clients and projects, with the key agreements.
• Decisions and why you made them.
• Procedures, templates and good examples.
• Your preferences, such as tone and formatting.

Often these are plain text files in folders. Simple, readable and yours.

Why it works

• Less repetition: you don't have to give the same explanation again and again.
• Better answers: the AI starts from your reality, not general knowledge.
• Knowledge that lasts: what you write down stays available, for colleagues too.
• Portable: because they're ordinary files, you're not tied to one tool.

Start small

1. Create one file about yourself: who you are, what you do, how you like to work.
2. Create one file per important project or client.
3. Add a short note after every important decision.
4. Link the folder to your AI assistant, for example through a project.

Watch out for

• No passwords or highly sensitive data in your notes.
• Choose where you store the files and who has access.
• Tidy up now and then. Outdated notes lead to outdated answers.

Pause and reflect

Prompt to copy