Which tool to choose
For this task the free assistants are enough: you don't need a paid model. Choose based on what you already have on hand.
- Do you have documents to attach (test results, contracts, account statements, a letter from the professional)? Use free ChatGPT: file upload and data analysis have tighter limits than the paid plans, but for one or two files they hold up without problems.
- Do you only want to describe the situation in words, without uploading anything? Free Gemini covers the case: the free model handles everyday questions and answers, quick drafting, and summarizing well.
- Is the matter delicate and confidential (health, money, a lawsuit)? Go to the privacy section below: there's a precise setting to turn on before you write.
If you don't use either of the two, start with Gemini: you open it with your Google account, without creating a new account.
How to do it
Whether in a browser (PC) or an app (smartphone) the path is identical: open the assistant, open a new conversation, paste the prompt.
- Gather the three minimum facts: who the professional is (cardiologist, lawyer, accountant), why you're going (the concrete problem), what worries you or what you want to know before leaving that office.
- Paste the prompt below and replace only the parts in quotation marks with your real situation.
- Read the questions you receive and mark the ones that really concern you.
- Ask the AI to trim down: write "Keep only 6, the most important for my case, ordered to be asked first." Check: you should get a short list, one that fits into a 20-minute appointment.
- Export: copy the questions into a phone note or print them. You'll read them one by one during the meeting, marking the answer beside each.
The prompt to copy:
I have to meet a "cardiologist" for "a first visit after my GP heard an irregular heartbeat."
Help me prepare.
1. Write me 8 to 12 clear, short questions to ask him in person, ordered by priority.
2. Include 2 or 3 "uncomfortable" questions that people often forget to ask (costs, alternatives to the proposed treatment, what happens if I do nothing, timing).
3. Tell me which documents or information I should bring with me.
4. Suggest what to note down during the visit.
Use simple language, no technical terms without explaining them.
First, ask me 2 questions, if you need them to better understand my situation.
The last line is the key: it pushes the AI to ask you for clarifications instead of guessing, and the questions that come out stay tailored to your case.
A concrete example
Marta has to take her 78-year-old father to a geriatrician because in recent months he's more confused and takes seven different medications. She's afraid of leaving the office with an incomprehensible sheet. She opens free Gemini and pastes the prompt, replacing the quotation marks with her situation.
The AI first asks her two things: how long ago the confusion started and whether there's an up-to-date list of the medications. Marta answers "about three months ago" and "yes, I have it." At that point she receives eleven questions. Among them, three she hadn't thought of on her own:
- Do the seven medications interact with each other, or can any of them be removed?
- Could the confusion depend precisely on the medications and not just on age?
- Is a specific test needed before deciding on a treatment, or do we start right away?
Marta asks to keep six. She prints them, puts them in her bag with the list of medicines. During the visit she reads them one by one and writes the answer beside each. She leaves with a plan: the geriatrician suspended two medications precisely starting from the first question. Without that list she wouldn't have gotten there.
When it does NOT work (and how to fix it)
If the AI gives you generic and obvious questions
It means you didn't give it enough context. Rewrite by adding concrete details: age, how long the problem has lasted, what another doctor or professional has already told you, what you fear. The more specific you are, the more the questions become yours and not textbook ones.
If you stray into the advice that belongs to the professional
The assistant can tell you "ask whether surgery is needed," not "you need surgery." If it starts giving you diagnoses, treatments, or legal opinions, stop: that's the job of the person you're about to meet. Use the AI to formulate the right questions, not to replace the answer.
If you have confidential material to upload
Health, financial, or legal documents contain sensitive data. On Gemini turn on Temporary Chat: the conversations don't appear in recent chats or in activity, aren't used to train the models, and don't personalize your experience. On ChatGPT the conversations are used for training by default, even on the paid plan: to avoid it use Temporary Chat or turn off "Improve the model for everyone" in the settings. In any case, before uploading, delete or redact names, tax codes, and account numbers that aren't needed to generate the questions.
If you bump into the message limit
On ChatGPT's free plan there's a message cap within a window of a few hours. If it blocks you halfway, don't lose the work: immediately copy the questions you already got and finish refining them later, or switch to Gemini to wrap up there.
A tip from someone who really uses it
Don't stop at the list of questions: ask the AI to also prepare how to recount your problem in thirty seconds. Most appointments are won in the first few minutes, and arriving with a clean summary ("for three months, these symptoms, these medications, this concern") makes the professional respond better and sooner. Add to the prompt: "Also write me a 4-line summary of my situation to read at the beginning." You learn it by heart, and the meeting starts off on the right foot.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay for a subscription to do this?
No. Preparing questions is a light task that the free plan handles without problems. You move to a paid plan only if you need to upload many documents or use it intensively every day.
Can I attach the test result or the contract and have it read?
Yes, and it's the best way to get targeted questions. Upload the file and ask "Based on this document, what questions should I ask the professional?". On ChatGPT, file upload on the free plan has tighter limits, so keep the attachment essential and first redact the unnecessary personal data.
Can the AI get the questions wrong?
It can propose some that are barely relevant or repetitive, and that's normal. That's why the step "keep only 6, the most important" isn't a detail: it serves you to reread them with a critical eye and discard the ones out of focus. You remain the one who decides, the AI does the brainstorming.
Isn't it better to trust your instinct instead of arriving with a piece of paper?
It's the opposite of what you think. Arriving with written questions doesn't irritate the professional: it makes them understand that you have clear ideas and saves them time. Above all, it protects you from the memory blank that strikes almost everyone under pressure: the question you "absolutely wanted to ask" and that comes back to you only in the elevator, as you're leaving.