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How do rules of thumb guide an act utilitarian when consequences are difficult to calculate?

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Jeremy Bentham: auto-icon — Utilitarianism English philosopher and economist Jeremy Bentham's preserved skeleton in his own clothes and surmounted by a wax head, at University College London.

For an act utilitarian, rules of thumb serve as practical guides when time or circumstances make it difficult to calculate the precise consequences of an action.12

Philosophers like J.J.C. Smart argued that these rules possess no independent moral status; their value is derived solely from their utility in predicting likely outcomes. Unlike rule-consequentialism, which treats rules as binding, act utilitarianism maintains that if it becomes clear that acting contrary to a rule of thumb will produce better consequences, one is morally obligated to do so. In this view, if following such a path conflicts with conventional morality, the utilitarian prioritizes the superior outcome over established social norms.12

Essentially, these rules are "rough and ready" tools used to navigate everyday life when the complex, ideal calculations of utility are impractical or impossible to perform.12