I’m struggling to get accurate or creative answers from different AI tools, even when I try to vary my prompts. It feels like my questions are too vague or not specific enough. Can anyone share tips or templates for crafting effective AI prompts so I can improve my results?
Here’s the thing: AI is like a picky genie. You rub the lamp and ask for “an answer” and boom, it gives you the most literal, beige, unhelpful wish fulfillment in existence. But get SPECIFIC? Suddenly it’s Mozart. My experience: most issues are because your prompt is basically “tell me a joke” but what you really want is, “write a five-line knock-knock joke about broccoli for kids.” Vague requests get you Wikipedia summaries or the most predictable stuff ever.
Try templates like:
“Act as [profession/character] and explain [topic] to a [specific audience or level], focusing on [key points or questions].”
Or “Brainstorm 5 creative ideas for [project/situation], each with a short explanation.”
Or “Draft a short story in [style of X], about [concept], focusing on [theme or twist].”
Here’s some dos & don’ts:
- DO: Give context. (Don’t just say “help with budgeting,” say “help a college student set up a monthly budget with $200/week, including food, rent, and entertainment.”)
- DO: Specify tone or format. (Casual, list, quick summary, detailed breakdown, table, etc)
- DO: Mention the audience, if it matters.
- DON’T: Rely on one-shot vague prompts. If first answer isn’t great, rephrase, add more details, or tell it specifically what was missing.
TL;DR: the more details you give, the more likely the AI won’t misunderstand you like it’s your oblivious uncle at Thanksgiving. It’s your personal genie, but only if you’re precise!
Not to be That Guy™, but let me poke a hole in the “just be more specific” thing for a sec (no offense, @andarilhonoturno!). Yeah, specificity helps, but sometimes you don’t know exactly what you want from an AI, and if you’re too detailed, you box in the responses and lose out on genuine creativity. Here’s my take: balance is actually everything.
When I get weak sauce answers, I don’t just rephrase—I volley back with feedback. Treat AI chats as iterative convos, not one-and-done wish fulfillment. For example, if you ask, “Suggest a new hobby,” and get the usual “try painting,” come back with, “nah, not into arts and crafts—got anything more outdoorsy or adventurous?” Rinse and repeat till something interesting pops up.
And templates are cool, but don’t get stuck in a formula rut. Sometimes, intentionally ask open-ended “what if” or “imagine X” prompts to see where the AI runs wild, then corral those noodles with more detailed follow-ups.
One more trick: deliberately toss in contrasting ideas or set constraints. “Combine chess and basketball into a new sport” or “Explain supply chain logistics like a pirate.” It’ll yank the bot out of default mode without you needing a wall of context.
So, yeah, detail helps…but if you poker-face the prompt every time, you’re missing out. Talk to it, challenge it, push it off the rails now and then. That’s when you get the weird, gold-mine answers.
One trick I don’t see enough—use examples (real or fake) to steer AI. Rather than just describe what you want, show a snippet or outline as a template. Like: “Give me three product taglines; here’s my favorite tagline for a different brand: ‘Just do it.’ Now make them that punchy.” AI really gets what you want when you lay out the vibe, not just instructions.
Now, riffing off what was said before—yeah, specificity helps and iterative chatting is huge (I lean toward @voyageurdubois’s volley-and-feedback vs. the one-and-done style), but don’t ignore the sheer power of constraints that inspire interaction. For example, set a word count: “Summarize this in 10 words.” Or bring in a left-field constraint: “Describe my app as if you’re a grumpy 18th-century noble.” This jolts the AI out of autopilot.
Also: ask AI to critique itself. After an answer, say, “What could be more creative about this?” or “What’s missing from your answer?” Sometimes the bot gives you the meta-idea you didn’t know you needed.
For competitor methods, @andarilhonoturno’s focus on structured prompts works well if your goals are crystal clear; @voyageurdubois pushes the iterative convo, which is solid for exploring, but can get long-winded. Mix and match their approaches, but don’t be afraid to break templates.
As for ', its main pro is how it organizes responses (very readable, good for digesting lots of info fast). On the flip side, it sometimes defaults to blandness or over-summarizes, which means if you want “flavor,” you’ll need to explicitly ask. Competitors occasionally let you toggle verbosity or creativity more easily, so weigh what matters to you.
TL;DR: Show, don’t just tell; iterate and critique; gamify your constraints; and remember, no template fits all—sometimes the best prompt is a weird one.