What a prompt is and how to phrase a request

A prompt is your request

A prompt is the text you write to a chatbot: a question, a task or a request. Everything the model knows about your situation, it learns from the prompt.

So the clearer you explain, the more accurate the answer. The model cannot ask a follow-up the way a friend would.

Three things in a good request

1. Goal: what exactly you want. "Help me write a letter" is vague; "write a letter to the clinic asking to move my appointment" is precise.

2. Context: who it is for and why. Who will read it, what is already known, what limits apply.

3. Format: how the answer should look. A list, a table, three paragraphs, plain language.

An example

Weak: "Write about AI."

Better: "Write for a 60-year-old who has never used AI three short paragraphs about what a chatbot is. Use plain language, and end with one tip on where to start."

The second request takes a few seconds longer to write, but its answer is ready to use.