Prompt engineering designs and refines instructions to influence an AI system’s behavior and outputs. Clearer prompts can improve results by assigning roles, requesting stepwise reasoning, and controlling the interaction. section 1.5.10 section 1.5.13
Build a stronger prompt by combining practical techniques:
- Ask the AI to work through a problem step by step when the task benefits from reasoning or a gradual drill-down. section 1.5.10
- Assign a role, define the desired task, request pauses for feedback, and specify when the AI should continue. section 1.5.10
- Start with a short idea and let an AI expand it into a more detailed prompt, then edit the result before testing it. section 1.5.13
Website-planning prompt
As an expert website designer, list the steps for creating a recipe website for the Instant Pot. Specify its organization, theme, and plan for attracting visitors. After each step, pause, ask for suggestions, and wait for a response. Combining role assignment, stepwise reasoning, and user feedback makes the request more structured, although some AI systems may not reliably pause. section 1.5.10
