🐶 T.R.E.A.T.S. for Your Golden Retriever (a.k.a. your AI)

By Greg Shortall – Founder, Advanced Creative Labs

If you’ve ever yelled at ChatGPT or begged Claude for “just one decent headline,” you’re not alone.

In our first article, we introduced the Golden Retriever Principle. The mindset shift that sees AI not as your intern or overlord, but as your loyal creative partner. Eager. Fast. Sometimes chaotic.

Now, in this follow-up, Greg Shortall breaks down exactly how to train your AI to fetch brilliant marketing outputs instead of fluffy nonsense. It’s called the T.R.E.A.T.S. Method, and it’s been battle-tested across 35+ real marketing workflows.

Here’s the full framework:

🦴 T – Tone / Personality

Tell AI how to sound by giving it a distinct voice or role.

🦴 R – Request

Be clear about what you're asking it to do. Focused prompts = better fetch.

🦴 E – Examples

Give one strong sample. It teaches more than paragraphs of explanation.

🦴 A – Abundance

Ask for multiple versions. Five options are better than one.

🦴 T – Transform

Give it something to rework—not a blank page.

🦴 S – Second Pass

Didn’t like the first result? Ask for a smarter, sharper revision.

This isn’t just about smarter prompting. It’s about building a real creative rhythm with AI—one that turns a “tool” into a teammate.
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📥 Download the PDF Guide – Perfect for your swipe file, team onboarding, or those "what do I do with this AI?" moments.

Your golden retriever is ready. You just need the right command. Let’s go fetch something brilliant.