How to Write Better AI Prompts

The difference between a good AI response and a useless one often comes down to how you write your prompt. A prompt is simply the instruction you give to an AI tool. Better prompts lead to better results. This guide gives you practical techniques you can use straight away.

The five rules of good prompts#

Follow these five rules and your AI results will improve immediately.

1. Be specific

Vague prompts give vague answers. Compare these two prompts:

• Bad: "Tell me about marketing"
• Good: "List five low-cost marketing strategies for a new coffee shop in a small UK town"

The second prompt tells the AI exactly what you want. It includes the topic, the number of items, the context, and the audience.

2. Give context

AI tools do not know your situation unless you explain it. Always include relevant background:

• Who is the audience?
• What is the purpose?
• What constraints exist (word count, tone, format)?

3. Set the format

Tell the AI how to present the answer:

• "Give me a numbered list"
• "Write this as a table with columns for name, cost, and difficulty"
• "Present this as three short paragraphs"

4. Assign a role

Asking the AI to take on a specific role improves the quality of the response:

• "You are an experienced HR manager..."
• "You are a primary school teacher..."
• "You are a financial adviser for UK small businesses..."

5. Include examples

If you want a specific style or format, show the AI an example of what you want. This is called few-shot prompting:

Write product descriptions in this style:

Example: "The Oak Desk Lamp -- Hand-crafted from sustainable English oak.
Warm LED light. Perfect for home offices. 30cm tall. Free UK delivery."

Now write one for a wool blanket made in Wales.

Common mistakes to avoid#

Most people make the same mistakes when writing prompts:

• Too vague, "Help me with my CV" gives a generic response. Add details about your experience, the role, and the industry.
• Too much at once, asking for ten things in one prompt overwhelms the AI. Break big tasks into smaller steps.
• No iteration, the first response is rarely perfect. Tell the AI what to change: "Make it shorter", "Add more examples", or "Use a friendlier tone."
• Forgetting constraints, if you need UK-specific advice, say so. If you need a specific word count, include it.

Advanced techniques#

Once you are comfortable with the basics, try these:

Chain of thought, ask the AI to explain its reasoning step by step. This often produces more accurate answers:

Work through this problem step by step before giving your final answer:
A shop sells 240 items in 6 days. Sales increase by 15% each day.
How many items were sold on day 1?

Refining with follow-ups, treat your AI conversation like a discussion. After the first response, you can say:

• "Good, but make the tone more professional"
• "Now adapt this for a UK audience"
• "Can you add three more examples?"

Key takeaways#

• Specific prompts always outperform vague ones
• Give context, set the format, and assign a role for better results
• Show examples when you want a particular style
• Break big tasks into smaller steps
• Iterate on responses, the first answer is a starting point, not the final product
• Save prompts that work well so you can reuse them