Energy regulation is complex and fast-moving. Filings run hundreds of pages, proceedings span thousands of documents, and data is scattered across sources with no single place to monitor it all. The teams that succeed are the ones who have access to comprehensive data and can move quickly through research to dedicate more time to analysis.
That's what HData's Regulatory AI is built for. And now there's a guide to help you use it to its full potential.
Regulatory AI: A Practical Guide for Powerful Results is HData's free resource for energy professionals who want faster, more reliable results from AI-powered regulatory research. Whether you're new to the platform or looking to refine a workflow you've already built, the guide delivers practical frameworks, best practices, and use case prompt examples you can apply immediately.
Start with Preparation, Not Just a Prompt
One of the guide's core insights is that a great Regulatory AI session begins before you type your first prompt. The guide walks through four pre-session steps: defining your goal, selecting the right documents, understanding processing capacity, and planning to test and iterate.
Document selection gets particular attention. Regulatory AI only works with the files you provide, which keeps answers grounded and attributable in authoritative sources. The guide introduces a practical framework for thinking about file selection: use fewer files (under 50) for focused analysis and more files (up to 400) for broad pattern research.
Three Principles of Writing Effective Prompts
The guide provides three crucial principles that ensure Regulatory AI supports your research and analysis:
- Be clear and specific. Use plain language and ask explicitly for what you want. The guide contrasts vague and specific prompts to show how much the latter improves results.
- Be purposeful, not just brief. A well-constructed prompt defines the task, scope, and output format and will outperform a vague one-liner every time. Every word should earn its place and have purpose.
- Be iterative. Treat Regulatory AI as a conversation, not a one-shot query. Suggested questions, follow-up prompts, and session templates are Regulatory AI tools to help you get started and keep going with your research.
A Prompt Framework for Immediate Use
The guide offers a practical framework for building prompts: Role + Task + Context + Output Format. Each element plays a specific function: setting the analytical perspective, stating what you want done, providing relevant scope or background, and specifying how results should appear.
Four use case prompt examples bring the framework to life: intervenor research, Integrated Research Plan (IRP) analysis, regulatory comparison, and timeline and milestone tracking. Each example includes variations for different angles on the same research.
Transparency Built into Every Answer
The guide also covers one of the defining features that makes Regulatory AI a unique technology: results are verifiable and shareable. Regulatory AI provides a transparent view of how a response was constructed and which sources contributed to it. In-text citations identify the exact source documents, page numbers, and quotes. Answer Details show how each response was developed with an easy-to-use list of source documents and synthesized answers.
Additionally, Regulatory AI offers Book Reports that allow you to export your sessions as interactive PDFs. These Book Reports are complete with questions, answers, tables, and citations and in a format ready to share with colleagues.
For professionals whose work depends on regulatory accuracy and auditability, these features are central to how Regulatory AI supports defensible, high-stakes work.
Download the Guide
Regulatory AI: A Practical Guide for Powerful Results is free to download and written for energy professionals across utilities, regulatory agencies, advocacy organizations, advisory firms, and energy technology companies.
Not yet using HData's Regulatory AI? Request a demo to see what it can do for your team.
About HData
HData is a regulatory technology leader focused on making regulatory information accessible and actionable. It combines expansive data libraries with purpose-built AI and automation that powers compliance reporting, research, analytics, and operational intelligence across public-sector and regulated markets. HData’s solutions help government agencies, utilities, energy professionals, advocates, advisory firms, and energy technology companies ensure regulatory data readiness, risk reduction, better workflows, actionable insights, and decisions with confidence. Visit www.hdata.com to learn more and request a demo.
