How to Write Better AI Prompts: Complete Guide with Examples (2025)
How to Write Better AI Prompts: The Complete Guide
The quality of AI output depends entirely on the quality of your prompts. Here is a comprehensive guide to writing prompts that get the results you want.
TL;DR: Be specific, provide context, give examples, specify format, and iterate. The difference between a mediocre and excellent prompt is often just 30 seconds of additional thought.
The 5 Rules of Great Prompts
1. Be Specific About What You Want
- Bad: “Write me an email”
- Good: “Write a professional email to a client named Sarah explaining that their project delivery will be delayed by 2 weeks due to supply chain issues. Tone: apologetic but confident. Include a revised timeline.”
2. Provide Context
- Bad: “Analyze this data”
- Good: “I’m the marketing manager for a B2B SaaS company. Analyze this quarterly sales data and identify trends that might explain our 15% drop in enterprise deals.”
3. Give Examples (Few-Shot)
- Show the AI what good output looks like
- Provide 2-3 examples of the format, tone, or style you want
- This works especially well for consistent formatting
4. Specify the Output Format
- “Respond in bullet points”
- “Create a table with columns for…”
- “Write as a numbered list with pros and cons”
- “Keep the response under 200 words”
5. Iterate and Refine
- Start with a basic prompt, then refine based on the output
- “Make it more concise” / “Add more technical detail” / “Change the tone to be more casual”
- Use follow-up prompts to improve specific sections
Advanced Techniques
| Technique | When to Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Role assignment | Expert analysis | “Act as a senior data scientist…” |
| Chain of thought | Complex reasoning | “Think step by step…” |
| Constraints | Focused output | “In exactly 3 bullet points…” |
| Negative prompting | Avoiding mistakes | “Do NOT include jargon…” |
AI tools: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini. Writing: Best AI writing tools. Business: ChatGPT for business.
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