The Real Power of LLMs Is in What They Reveal You’re Missing
Most companies use LLMs to answer questions.
But the smartest ones use LLMs to expose the questions they should be asking.
Instead of seeing LLMs only as a knowledge engine, treat them as a blind spot detector.
They can highlight inconsistencies, reveal assumptions, and surface gaps in logic or language that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Here’s how to apply LLMs not just to generate insight, but to sharpen awareness of what your team may be overlooking.
Step 1: Ask the Model to Challenge Your Assumptions
LLMs are trained to predict. That means they can also detect when something doesn’t quite follow.
Key Move:
Feed the model your strategy deck, messaging plan, or policy draft. Then ask it:
- What assumptions are being made here?
- What information is missing that someone would want?
- What might a skeptical stakeholder question?
This is not about correctness. It’s about surfacing the gaps that usually only come out too late.
Step 2: Use Contradiction Prompts to Stress-Test Narratives
LLMs can help you think like your critics.
Key Move:
Give the model a positioning statement, internal pitch, or project rationale. Then prompt it to respond with:
- A counterargument
- A customer objection
- A competitor’s likely critique
- A compliance or regulatory pushback
This builds better readiness, not just better communication.
When you preempt the friction, you reduce the risk.
Step 3: Run Comparative Prompts Across Versions
Small differences in tone, clarity, or logic can have major effects on outcomes.
Key Move:
Feed the model two different versions of the same message or decision logic. Ask it to compare them. Where are they aligned? Where do they diverge? Which one reads as more trustworthy or complete?
This helps teams spot inconsistencies before they hit the real world and it speeds up review and alignment in the process.
Step 4: Treat Confusion as a Signal, Not an Error
When an LLM gives an answer that’s vague, generic, or uncertain, don’t just discard it. Ask why.
Key Move:
Use low-confidence or unfocused answers as clues. They often point to poorly structured input, unclear goals, or missing context.
These moments don’t just highlight model limits. They reflect organizational blind spots.
If the model can’t make sense of it, a new hire or partner probably won’t either.
Step 5: Use LLMs to Map What Isn’t Documented
Every company has institutional knowledge that lives in heads, habits, and hallway conversations.
Key Move:
Ask the model to outline what processes, steps, or background information are implied but unstated in a document or workflow.
This helps you identify onboarding gaps, training needs, or decision frameworks that have never been written down.
Now you can codify what was previously tacit.
A Final Thought
LLMs don’t just tell you what you know. They can help you discover what you don’t.
You don’t need to treat every prompt as a source of answers.
You need to:
- Ask the model to identify assumptions and gaps
- Stress-test logic and language from multiple perspectives
- Compare versions to surface inconsistency
- Use confusion as a lens on clarity
- Reverse-engineer what knowledge is missing
Great organizations don’t just search for certainty.
They get better at spotting uncertainty before it causes trouble.
