Top tips for writing better AI prompts
Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world and share ways to stay ahead. This week, we’re taking a moment to talk about how one can write better prompts to improve outputs and save time on revisions.
You ask a generative AI (GenAI) tool a question. A few seconds later, you get an answer. Sometimes it is exactly what you need. Other times, it is too vague, too long, too formal, or simply not what you had in mind.
The difference often comes down to the prompt.
A prompt does not have to be complicated to work well. In fact, the best prompts are usually clear and specific. The more information you give the GenAI model about what you need, the less it has to guess.
Here are five simple ways to write better GenAI prompts.
1. Say exactly what you need
The first step is to be clear about the task.
Asking a GenAI tool to “write something about cybersecurity” leaves a lot open to interpretation. What kind of content? For whom? How long should it be?
Instead, try:
“Write a 600-word article about phishing attacks for small-business employees. Explain how they work, give three examples, and keep the language simple.”
The second prompt gives the GenAI tool a much clearer idea of what you expect.
2. Give it the context it needs
GenAI does not know everything about your situation unless you tell it.
If you want help writing an email, for example, explain who you are writing to, what has happened, and what you want the recipient to do.
Instead of:
“Write an email asking for an update.”
Try:
“Write a polite email to a vendor asking for an update on a quotation that was expected last Friday. We need it to finalize our event budget.”
That extra information gives the GenAI something to work with and makes the response more relevant to your situation.
3. Tell it how you want the answer to sound
The same request can produce very different results depending on the tone you specify.
If you want something friendly, professional, casual, concise, or technical, say so.
For example:
“Rewrite this email in a professional but friendly tone. Keep it short and avoid sounding too formal.”
You can also tell the GenAI who will be reading the content. A technical explanation for an IT administrator should not sound the same as an explanation for someone with no technical background.
4. Give it boundaries
More information is not always better. What matters is giving the GenAI the information that affects the answer.
Set limits around things such as length, number of examples, structure, or information to include.
For example:
“Summarize this report in 200 words. Include the three main findings and one recommendation. Do not use technical terms.”
You can also tell it what to leave out:
“Keep the explanation under 300 words and do not include an introduction.”
Simple boundaries can make a response much easier to use.
5. Treat the first answer as a starting point
You do not have to get everything right in your first prompt.
If the answer is too long, ask the GenAI to shorten it. If it sounds too formal, ask it to make the tone more natural. If it misses an important point, add the information and ask it to try again.
You could say:
“This is too formal. Make it sound more conversational.”
Or:
“Keep the same structure, but make the examples more relevant to IT teams.”
This is where GenAI can become much more useful. You are not limited to one question and one answer. You can keep refining the response until it is closer to what you need.
A simple way to remember it
Before you hit enter on a prompt, ask yourself five questions:
What do I want?
What does the AI need to know?
Who is this for?
Are there any limits?
What should the final answer look like?
You do not need a complicated formula or special vocabulary to write a good prompt. Start with what you want, provide enough context, and be clear about the result you are looking for.
Sometimes, getting a better answer from GenAI is as simple as asking a better question.