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Satya Nadella recently shared how he's using GPT-5 at work, and some of his prompts are actually pretty smart. Here's what caught my attention and how you can use similar ideas even if you're not running Microsoft.

What he asks: "Based on my prior interactions with [person], give me 5 things likely top of mind for our next meeting."

Why this is clever: You know that awkward moment when a meeting starts and nobody's quite sure what to talk about? This fixes that. Feed the AI your recent emails or Slack messages with someone, and it'll tell you what's probably on their mind.

Try this: Before your next 1-on-1, paste your last few conversations with that person and ask what topics they're likely to bring up. You'll look way more prepared than you actually are.

What he asks: "Draft a project update based on emails, chats, and all meetings in [series]: KPIs vs. targets, wins/losses, risks, competitive moves, plus likely tough questions and answers."

Why this is clever: People sugarcoat things in status reports. "We're on track" usually means "we're behind but I don't want to say it." This prompt looks at actual conversations to figure out what's really happening.

Try this: Dump your project emails and meeting notes into AI and ask it to spot the difference between what people say publicly and what the data shows. You might be surprised.

What he asks: "Are we on track for the [Product] launch in November? Check eng progress, pilot program results, risks. Give me a probability."

Why this is clever: Asking for a percentage forces honest thinking. "80% likely" is way more useful than "probably" or "should be fine."

Try this: Next time someone tells you a deadline is doable, ask AI to look at the actual progress and give you odds. It's harder to BS a number.

What he asks: "Review my calendar and email from the last month and create 5 to 7 buckets for projects I spend most time on, with % of time spent and short descriptions."

Why this is clever: We all think we know how we spend our time. We're usually wrong. This shows you the gap between where you think your hours go and where they actually go.

Try this: Export a month of calendar data and ask AI to break down your time. If you say your priority is Project X but you're spending 40% of your week on random meetings, that's good to know.

What he asks: "Review [select email] + prep me for the next meeting in [series], based on past manager and team discussions."

Why this is clever: It's like having an assistant who remembers everything from every previous meeting and briefs you before the next one. No more "wait, what did we decide last time?"

Try this: Before recurring meetings, give AI your notes from the last few sessions plus any relevant emails. Ask it to remind you what happened and what you should follow up on.

Notice a pattern? None of these are "write me a blog post" or "make this sound professional." They're all about taking information you already have and making sense of it.

The prompts are specific (with dates, names, data sources), they ask for analysis instead of just summaries, and they force honesty by requesting probabilities and potential problems.

You don't need fancy enterprise software. Here's the translation:

Give it context. Don't just ask vague questions. Include the actual emails, notes, or documents you want analyzed.

Ask for percentages. "What are the odds this deadline slips?" is better than "Are we on track?"

Request the bad news. Tell the AI to poke holes in your plan. Ask what could go wrong. Ask what questions you haven't thought of yet.

Look for patterns. Feed it data about your calendar, your project updates, or your team communications and ask what patterns it sees.

Let's be real: this is also kind of creepy. Your boss using AI to analyze every email and predict your priorities? That could feel like surveillance. There's a fine line between "helpful analysis" and "Big Brother is watching."

The difference is control. When you're using this on your own data to be more productive, that's one thing. When someone else is using it to monitor you, that's another.

These prompts work because they're not trying to replace thinking. They're trying to surface information you'd miss otherwise, quantify uncertainty you'd normally ignore, and catch blindspots before they become problems.

You probably won't use all five. Pick one that solves an actual problem you have. Maybe you always feel unprepared for meetings. Maybe you're bad at knowing where your time goes. Start there.

The goal isn't to automate your job. It's to stop wasting mental energy on stuff a computer can handle so you can focus on decisions that actually matter.