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What is a “prompt”?

A prompt is simply the message you send to the AI. That’s it. When people say “write a good prompt,” they just mean “ask clearly.” The AI is smart, but it can’t read your mind. The more clearly you describe what you want, the better the result. Good news: you already know how to do this — it’s the same as giving clear instructions to a helpful person.

The 4 ingredients of a great prompt

You don’t need all four every time, but the more you include, the better:

1. The task

What do you want? “Write an email”, “Summarize this”, “Make a plan”.

2. The details

Who is it for? How long? What tone? “…to a new customer, friendly, under 100 words.”

3. The example or input

Give it the material to work with. Paste the text, notes, or a sample you like.

4. The format

How should the result look? “As 3 bullet points”, “As a spreadsheet”, “As a PDF I can download.”
Working in Agents? Always name the deliverable: document, spreadsheet, or PDF. See Create docs, sheets & PDFs.

See the difference

write about our product
The AI has to guess everything: which product, who’s reading, how long, what tone. You’ll get something generic.

Simple habits that instantly help

  • Say who it’s for. “for beginners”, “for my boss”, “for kids”.
  • Say how long. “one sentence”, “a short paragraph”, “under 100 words”.
  • Say the tone. “friendly”, “professional”, “playful”, “serious”.
  • Give an example. Paste something you like and say “in this style”.
  • Ask for a format. “as bullet points”, “as a table”, “step by step”.

You can always fix it afterwards

You don’t have to get the perfect prompt on the first try. Just reply with a small change:
  • “Make it shorter.”
  • “More formal, please.”
  • “Add a friendly closing line.”
  • “Turn this into bullet points.”
The AI remembers the conversation and adjusts. This back-and-forth is often faster than writing one perfect prompt.
Stuck? Ask the AI to help you ask: “What details do you need from me to write a great LinkedIn post?” It will tell you exactly what to add.

Next step

Create your first report

Turn your information into a polished written summary.