Claude and AI Setup -- April 17, 2026

How to Write a Business Context Document for Claude

By Arjita SethiApril 17, 20265 min read
Direct Answer

A Business Context Document has five sections: who you are (2-3 specific sentences), your audience (describe one real person, not a demographic), your offers (what you sell and how you describe it in conversation), your voice rules (specific words always and never used, with real examples), and what you are building right now (update weekly). One to two pages. Specific over comprehensive.

Why Most People Get This Wrong

Most founders write their Business Context Document like a brand guide -- full of adjectives and aspirational language. "We are a warm, approachable brand that empowers entrepreneurs." Claude reads this and produces generic output. Nothing in that sentence gives Claude specific enough signal to produce specific output.

A Business Context Document written for AI needs concrete rules, real examples, and current facts -- not aspirational language.

The test: after Claude reads your document, does its output sound like it could be for any business in your category? If yes, your document needs more specificity -- especially in the audience section and the voice rules section.

Section by Section

Who You Are: Your name, your brand name and what it does in one sentence, credentials relevant to your content, current stage of the business. Two to three sentences total. Current facts, not history.

Your Audience: Describe one specific person. Not "female entrepreneurs 25-45." A real person: what she does, what she wants, what she has tried, what she says to herself at midnight when frustrated. The more specific, the better.

Your Offers: What you sell, the cost, who it is for, what problem it solves. Write it the way you would explain it in conversation -- not the polished marketing copy version.

Your Voice Rules: Five words you always use. Five words you never use. Your sentence rhythm. Tone difference between formal and casual content. One example of content that sounds right and one that missed.

What You Are Building Right Now: Update weekly. Current live offers, active campaigns, current focus. Prevents Claude from advising a past version of your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I write a Business Context Document for Claude?
Five sections: who you are (2-3 sentences), your audience (one specific person), your offers (what you sell, how you describe it), voice rules (always-words, never-words, examples), and current priorities (update weekly). One to two pages, specific over comprehensive.
How long should a Business Context Document be?
One to two pages. Dense and specific. Claude processes shorter, highly specific documents more effectively than longer general ones.
What is the most important section?
Voice rules and audience, in that order. These two sections produce the biggest improvement in output quality because they address the two most common reasons AI output sounds generic: wrong tone and wrong audience.
How often should I update it?
The current priorities section updates weekly (ten minutes). Audience, offers, and voice update only when something meaningful changes.
Does it need to be in markdown format?
Recommended but not required. Using hash symbols for section headings helps Claude parse structure. Plain text with clear section labels works nearly as well.
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