GOTCHA Framework: Making AI Consistent for Business
If you’ve tried using AI in your business, you’ve probably noticed the inconsistency problem. Monday’s output is brilliant. Tuesday’s is mediocre. Wednesday’s sounds like it was written by a different company entirely. Your team member’s results are nothing like yours, even using the same tool.
This inconsistency is the #1 reason businesses give up on AI. Not because the technology doesn’t work, but because they can’t get it to work reliably.
GOTCHA solves this. It’s a framework I developed at Black Sheep Marketing after helping dozens of businesses implement AI — and watching most of them struggle with exactly this problem.
We introduced GOTCHA briefly in our ChatGPT for business guide. This article goes deeper: the full methodology, real implementation examples, and how to roll it out in your organisation.
What GOTCHA Stands For
G — Goals O — Orchestration T — Tools C — Context H — Hard Prompts A — Arguments
Each element addresses a specific cause of AI inconsistency. Together, they create a system that delivers reliable, high-quality outputs every time — regardless of who on your team is using it.
G — Goals: Define the Outcome Before Touching the Tool
The biggest source of bad AI output is vague input. “Write me an email” produces something generic. “Write a 200-word follow-up email to a prospect who attended our pricing webinar, reminding them of the 10% early-bird discount that expires Friday, in a professional but warm tone” produces something useful.
Every GOTCHA task starts with a clear goal that specifies:
- What you need (format, length, structure)
- Why you need it (the purpose: persuade, inform, educate, sell)
- How success is measured (response rate, time saved, error reduction)
Goal Examples
❌ “Write social media content” ✅ “Write 5 LinkedIn posts for this week. Each 100-150 words. Professional but conversational tone. One engagement question per post. Topics: [list]. Goal: drive profile visits and connection requests from operations directors in manufacturing.”
❌ “Summarise this document” ✅ “Summarise this 40-page tender document into a 1-page brief for the sales team. Highlight: requirements, timeline, budget range, decision criteria, and competitor mentions. Format as bullet points under clear headings.”
The specificity of your goal directly determines the quality of AI output. Spend 5 minutes getting the goal right rather than spending 30 minutes re-prompting.
O — Orchestration: AI Doesn’t Replace Humans, It Slots In
Orchestration defines how AI fits into your existing workflow. This is critical — AI works best as part of a process, not as a standalone magic box.
Key orchestration questions:
- What triggers the AI task? (A meeting happening? A lead coming in? Monday morning?)
- What inputs does AI need? (Data, context documents, examples)
- Who reviews the output? (Never skip this for external communications)
- What happens after review? (Publish, send, store, feed into next process)
- What’s the fallback if AI produces poor output? (Human rewrites? Re-run with different prompt?)
Example Orchestration: Weekly Blog Post
Trigger: Every Monday 9am
Input: Content brief (topic, keywords, audience, internal links)
AI step: Generate first draft using Hard Prompt template
Review: Marketing lead reviews, adds expert insight, edits
Approval: Final check for accuracy and brand voice
Publish: Upload to CMS, schedule social distribution
Feedback: Track performance, refine prompt if quality dipsWithout orchestration, AI creates chaos. People use it randomly, outputs aren’t reviewed, and quality varies wildly. With orchestration, AI is a predictable part of a managed workflow.
T — Tools: Use the Right AI for the Job
Not all AI tools are equal, and none is best at everything.
When to Use What
Claude (Anthropic):
- Long document analysis (can handle 200K+ tokens)
- Nuanced, detailed writing
- Tasks requiring careful reasoning
- Content that needs to follow complex instructions precisely
ChatGPT (OpenAI):
- General-purpose writing and brainstorming
- Code generation
- Image generation (DALL-E)
- Broadest plugin/integration ecosystem
Gemini (Google):
- Tasks integrated with Google Workspace
- Research requiring current information
- Multi-modal tasks (text + images)
Specialist tools:
- Midjourney/DALL-E: Image generation
- Otter.ai/Fireflies: Meeting transcription
- Descript: Audio/video editing
- Custom pipelines: Automated workflows (data processing, reporting)
For a detailed comparison, read our Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini guide.
The GOTCHA rule: Choose one primary tool for each task type and standardise on it. Don’t let team members use different tools for the same task — you’ll lose consistency.
C — Context: The Difference Between Generic and Brilliant
Context is the most underused element. Most people give AI a task but no context about their business, audience, or brand. That’s like hiring a writer and telling them nothing about your company.
What to Include in Your Context
Brand voice: How do you sound? Formal or casual? Technical or plain? Include 2-3 examples of content in your voice.
Audience: Who are you talking to? Job titles, industry, company size, pain points, level of expertise.
Business info: What you do, where you’re based, your differentiators, your core services.
Constraints: What you never say (competitor names, certain claims, specific terminology). What you always include (CTAs, disclaimers, specific language).
The Context Document
Create a single document (we call it a “brand context file”) that contains all of this. Reference it in every prompt. This is the fastest way to transform AI output from generic to on-brand.
Example brand context file (for an engineering firm):
COMPANY: Henderson Engineering Ltd
LOCATION: Southampton, UK
SERVICES: Structural assessments, building surveys, project management
AUDIENCE: Property developers, building owners, architects (B2B, UK-based)
TONE: Professional, authoritative, approachable. Technical accuracy is essential
but explain concepts in accessible language. We're engineers who speak human.
NEVER: Claim to be the "biggest" or "best." Don't use American spelling.
Don't reference specific project values.
ALWAYS: Include relevant certifications. Mention our 30+ years of experience.
End with a clear next step.
EXAMPLES: [Include 2-3 pieces of content that capture the voice perfectly]Store this file. Reference it in every prompt. Update it as your brand evolves.
H — Hard Prompts: The Reusable Templates
Hard Prompts are your tested, refined, reusable prompt templates. They’re the core of GOTCHA’s consistency — the same prompt, producing the same quality output, every time, regardless of who uses it.
Building a Hard Prompt
A good Hard Prompt includes:
- Role: Who the AI is acting as
- Context reference: Points to your brand context document
- Task: Exactly what to produce
- Format: Structure, length, style requirements
- Constraints: What to avoid
- Examples: What good output looks like
- Variables: Clearly marked placeholders for the Arguments
Example Hard Prompt: Client Proposal Email
ROLE: You are a senior business development manager at [Company Name].
CONTEXT: [Reference brand context file]
TASK: Write a follow-up email to a prospective client after an initial meeting.
FORMAT:
- Subject line (compelling, specific to their need)
- Greeting (use their first name)
- Opening (reference something specific from the meeting)
- 2-3 paragraphs: summarise their challenges, our proposed approach, next steps
- Closing with clear CTA (book a follow-up call)
- Professional sign-off
- Total length: 200-300 words
CONSTRAINTS:
- Do not include pricing (that comes in the formal proposal)
- Do not make claims we can't verify
- UK English spelling
- Professional but warm tone — not salesy
GOOD EXAMPLE: [Include a previous email that was well received]
VARIABLES (fill in before sending):
- [PROSPECT_NAME]: Contact's first name
- [COMPANY_NAME]: Their company
- [MEETING_DATE]: When you met
- [KEY_CHALLENGE]: Their main problem discussed
- [PROPOSED_APPROACH]: What we suggested
- [NEXT_STEP]: Suggested next action and dateSave this template. Anyone on your team can now fill in the variables and produce a consistent, professional follow-up email in 2 minutes instead of 20.
A — Arguments: The Variables That Change
Arguments are the only thing that changes each time you use a Hard Prompt. Everything else — the role, context, format, constraints — stays the same.
In the proposal email example above, the arguments are:
- Prospect name
- Their company
- Meeting date
- Key challenge
- Proposed approach
- Next step
This separation is the key insight of GOTCHA. By fixing everything except the variables, you get consistent quality while still customising each output.
Managing Arguments
For recurring tasks, create simple input forms or templates:
Weekly social media - Arguments for this week:
- Topics: [list 3-5]
- Any company news: [if applicable]
- Industry events: [if relevant]
- Tone adjustment: [standard / more formal / more casual]Team members fill in the arguments. The Hard Prompt handles the rest. Consistency is maintained even when different people are creating the content.
Rolling GOTCHA Out in Your Business
Week 1: Pick One Task
Choose your most repetitive, time-consuming writing or analysis task. Build a GOTCHA prompt for it. Test it 5 times. Refine.
Week 2-3: Expand to 3-5 Tasks
Apply GOTCHA to your highest-impact tasks. Document each prompt. Store them in a shared location.
Week 4: Team Training
Share the prompts and context document with your team. Show them how to use the templates. Let them practise.
Ongoing: Refine and Expand
Review prompt quality monthly. Are outputs still good? Does anything need updating? Add new GOTCHA prompts as you identify more tasks.
Within a month, you’ll have a library of tested prompts that deliver consistent, high-quality outputs. That’s not playing with AI — that’s building a system.
Want Help Implementing GOTCHA?
GOTCHA is the foundation of our ATLAS framework at Black Sheep Marketing. We help businesses build complete GOTCHA prompt libraries, train teams, and create AI systems that deliver reliable results.
If you want to stop getting inconsistent AI outputs and start getting predictable, high-quality results, let’s build your GOTCHA system together.
Book a Free ATLAS Consultation →
