01 / Start with three things you keep explaining
Before you switch, write down three corrections you regularly give your current assistant. Perhaps your emails sound too formal, client projects get mixed together, or drafts must wait for your review before being sent. These are useful starting points for a personal brief.
Add a scope and an exception to each preference. Instead of ‘keep answers short,’ write ‘For everyday questions, give the conclusion followed by up to three reasons. Expand when I request a research report.’ You can check whether an answer follows that instruction.
This guide provides an original handoff method. The brief is a document you maintain, not a universal import format. Whether an assistant stores it, and where, needs a separate check in that product.
02 / Collect candidates from your current assistant
Ask the old assistant for a draft, then review every entry yourself. It may only have access to the present conversation or a subset of stored information. Asking for ‘everything’ does not give it access to missing history.
Move guesses into a separate review list. Remove completed projects from the active-work section. Keep an original chat archive or important files separately if you need them; a generated profile is not an account backup.
Prepare background notes I can take to another AI assistant.
Use only information you can actually access; do not fill gaps by guessing.
Separate:
1. Working and communication preferences I explicitly confirmed.
2. Corrections I made, with the corrected information.
3. Active projects: goal, decisions, current state, next step.
4. Information that may be outdated or contradictory.
For each entry, include its scope, known date, and traceable source.
Use "unknown" when a date or source is unavailable.
Keep inferences separate from confirmed facts.
Exclude passwords, access tokens, payment details, and unnecessary
private information about other people.
State what information you could access. Do not claim a complete export.
Prepare a draft only; do not modify or delete the originals.03 / Keep an archive separate from the brief
If you also need a Claude account archive, its official export workflow is Settings → Privacy → Export data on the web or desktop. That download serves a different purpose from the concise handoff you are preparing.
Choose what the new assistant actually needs. Scheduling work may require your time zone and available hours without requiring your home address. Information once shared with an old assistant does not automatically belong in the new one.
04 / Separate lasting preferences from temporary work
A preferred language can apply across projects. ‘Finish the presentation first this week’ has an expiry date. Store them as different kinds of information so a temporary priority does not become a permanent rule.
Use the personal brief for preferences that travel across tasks. Give each active project its own card with a last-confirmed date. Keep one-off requests in the current task. List connected accounts, subscriptions, and recurring jobs separately: describing them does not transfer their access or execution state.
| Information | Suggested home | Check before moving |
|---|---|---|
| Communication habits | Personal brief | Scope and exceptions |
| Current project state | Dated project card | Latest confirmed version |
| One-off request | Current task | Expiry or completion |
| Connected accounts and recurring jobs | Handoff checklist | Access and actual task status |
05 / Copy this personal brief
Fill in what you know and leave uncertain fields open. Remove vague requirements such as ‘be smart.’ Replace them with observable behavior, such as flagging unsupported statements in an outgoing draft.
The action boundaries below are requests to the assistant. Check the platform's actual permissions separately; writing a boundary does not configure an access control.
PERSONAL BRIEF
Version: v1
Last confirmed by me: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Background
- Preferred name:
- Default language:
- Working time zone:
- Day-to-day responsibilities:
Communication
- What I want to see first:
- Default level of detail:
- Expressions or formats to avoid:
- Text that must remain exact:
Working habits
- When information is missing:
- Evidence I need for changing facts:
- What counts as finished:
Action boundaries
- Actions allowed without another review:
- Actions that need my review:
- Data or accounts outside the task's scope:
Verify these against actual platform permissions.
Frequent misunderstandings
- Previous statement:
- Correct statement:
- Scope and effective date:
Do not treat as current facts
- Expired information:
- Unconfirmed information:
Active project cards: [files or accessible links]06 / Give an active project a useful starting point
‘I am working on a proposal’ leaves the new assistant with almost nothing to act on. Add the deliverable, completed work, open questions, and the next useful step. The example below is fictional.
Provide the referenced material separately and check access. A filename, a path on your computer, or a link that requires another account does not prove the new assistant can read the document.
PROJECT CARD — fictional example
Project: Orange Leaf workshop proposal
Goal: A six-page proposal for the client's internal discussion.
Current state: Pages 1–4 are drafted; pages 5–6 are still needed.
Confirmed decision: Explain use cases before introducing costs.
Unknown: The client's final budget. Do not invent one.
Next step: Check whether page 4 supports the recommendations.
Material: Proposal draft, which I will provide separately.
Acceptance: Six pages, labeled assumptions, sourced numbers.
Action scope: Comment and draft; I review before anything is sent.
Last confirmed: [actual date]07 / Verify understanding with a small task
First ask the new assistant to restate the rules and identify missing or conflicting information. Then give it a small job, such as drafting a client update from two supplied notes. Check the tone, the difference between confirmed and unknown facts, and whether it respects the allowed action scope.
An acknowledgement only shows that the message was received. If you want the information to persist, inspect the product's memory or instruction controls and repeat a relevant task in a new ordinary conversation without pasting the brief again. For project-only information, test in a new conversation inside that project.
Using text in the current chat and retaining it across chats are different outcomes. Record which one you actually observed.
08 / Maintain one version you can review
Update a specific entry with an effective date: ‘Change my default time zone from A to B starting on this date.’ Update your own copy as well. This gives you a clear starting point for the next move.
You are ready for the next stage when you have an approved brief, a current project card, and a small task that meets your requirements. Keep important old materials and recurring jobs available until their individual handoffs have been checked. The next guide walks through importing and verifying memory in Claude.