Configuring an AI Assistant for Academic Use: Stages, Tools, and Rules

This paper addresses the challenges of using AI assistants in academic environments, highlighting issues such as verbosity, unreliable reasoning, and insufficient critical validation. To overcome these limitations, it introduces two original tools: the Laconic Rules, a set of concise word-limit guidelines that minimize unnecessary language and sharpen focus, and the Caudine Protocols, a robust validation framework designed to systematically filter out unsupported claims and logical flaws. The methodology requires no specialized AI knowledge and is accessible to any researcher or institution. The paper details the stepwise implementation, user profiling, and integration strategies, with results based on iterative testing sessions with ChatGPT 4.1. Findings show that this approach significantly reduces linguistic noise, improves logical coherence, and enhances the reliability of AI-generated academic outputs. The proposed framework offers a practical, easy-to-adopt solution for anyone seeking trustworthy, efficient, and high-quality academic assistance from AI, advancing critical rigor and productivity in scholarly work