Club Benefits
I know what you're thinking, “This guy is a madman for taking relationship advice from AI.”
Honestly, I had the same reaction at first. For a long time, I saw AI tools as nothing more than digital assistants; sure they are useful for work, but not much else. But the more I use them, the more I realize they can go beyond that. They’re surprisingly good at tackling philosophical questions, offering thoughtful recommendations and helping you think through complex ideas.
That’s where Claude stands out. When it comes to relationship questions, it tends to deliver responses that feel more empathetic and nuanced than I expected. I don’t take its advice at face value, though — I use it as a starting point, then run those insights by a real person to see what actually holds up.
Article continues belowMore often than not, the suggestions are genuinely helpful. And that’s largely because I rely on a set of 10 structured prompts that guide the conversation and push the chatbot to go deeper than surface-level advice.
Prompting for proper counsel from a chatbot
Whenever life’s problems spring up and throw a wrench into my most important relationships, I do four things: reflect on them, talk with my friends & family to get their advice, spend some time with Claude to see what advice it can offer up, and then take that chatbot’s input to those same loved ones to hear their opinions on…well, Claude’s opinions.
The following 10 prompts come in clutch whenever I need Claude to step into its role as my digital therapist:
- "I'm having an issue with [person/relationship type]. Here's the situation from my perspective: [describe]. What might I be missing and what would you suggest?"
- "Help me understand why my [partner/friend/family member] might be acting like [behavior]. I want to genuinely understand their point of view before I respond."
- "I need to have a difficult conversation with [person] about [topic]. Help me figure out what to say, how to say it, and how to handle it if they react [way you fear]."
- "I keep ending up in situations where [pattern]. This has happened with [type of people and further context]. Help me understand if this is a me-pattern, a them-pattern, or both."
- "I'm in the early stages with someone new. Here's what I've noticed: [list of behaviors]. Which of these would you flag as concerning, which are neutral, and which are genuinely positive?"
- "I'm really hurt/angry about [situation]. I don't want advice yet. I just want you to help me understand my own feelings before I decide what to do."
- "I'm trying to decide whether to [stay/leave/confront/forgive/etc.]. Here are the factors I keep going back and forth on: [list them]. Help me think through each one honestly."
- "I want to honestly assess my [relationship type] with [type of person]. Can you ask me a series of questions to help me figure out if this relationship is healthy for me?"
- "Help me write out exactly what I want to say to [person] about [issue]. My goal is to be [honest/kind/firm/clear] without being [defensive/hurtful/passive-aggressive]."
- "I want to get better at [specific relationship skill - e.g., communication, setting boundaries, expressing needs]. What are the patterns I should watch for in myself and how do I actually build this skill over time?"
I’ve learned that the more specific I am with my prompts, the better the results — and I always avoid using real names when talking about other people. I also make a point to include honest details about myself, especially when I’m trying to understand patterns, like why I keep ending up in the same relationship situations.
The more context I give Claude, the more thoughtful and useful its responses tend to be.
Bottom line
ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity certainly excel in certain areas—ChatGPT is an amazing productivity tool when I need tips on how to maximize mine, Gemini is great at handling multimodal tasks and Perplexity offers up reliable information thanks to its reliance on up-to-date information.
Claude is great at coding, yes. But it’s shockingly adept at giving useful relationship advice that would sound equally sensible if it left the lips of a human. As a supplement to a real therapist, Claude comes in clutch.
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