LONDON (news agencies) — If you’re using ChatGPT but getting mediocre results, don’t blame the chatbot. Instead, try sharpening up your prompts.
Generative AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude have become hugely popular and embedded into daily life for many users. They’re powerful tools that can help us with so many different tasks.
What you shouldn’t overlook, however, is that a chatbot’s output depends on what you tell it to do, and how. There’s a lot you can do to improve the prompt — also known as the request or query — that you type in.
Here are some tips for general users on how to get higher quality chatbot replies, based on tips from the AI model makers:
ChatGPT can’t read your mind. You need to give it clear and explicit instructions on what you need it to do.
Unlike a standard Google search, you can’t just ask for an answer based on some keywords. And you’ll need to do more than just tell it to, say, “design a logo” because you’ll end up with a generic design. Flesh it out with details on the company that the logo is for, the industry it will be used in and the design style you’re going for.
“Ensure your prompts are clear, specific, and provide enough context for the model to understand what you are asking,” ChatGPT maker OpenAI advises on its help page. “Avoid ambiguity and be as precise as possible to get accurate and relevant responses.”
Think of using a chatbot like holding a conversation with a friend. You probably wouldn’t end your chat after the first answer. Ask follow-up questions or refine your original prompt.
OpenAI’s advice: “Adjust the wording, add more context, or simplify the request as needed to improve the results.”
You might have to have an extended back-and-forth that elicits better output. Google advises that you’ll need to try a “few different approaches” if you don’t get what you’re looking for the first time.
“Fine-tune your prompts if the results don’t meet your expectations or if you believe there’s room for improvement,” Google recommends in its prompting guide for Gemini. “Use follow-up prompts and an iterative process of review and refinement to yield better results.”
When making your request, you can also ask an AI large language model to respond in a specific voice or style.
“Words like formal, informal, friendly, professional, humorous, or serious can help guide the model,” OpenAI writes.
You also tell the chatbot the type of person the response is aimed at.
These parameters will help determine the chatbot’s overall approach to its answer, as well as the tone, vocabulary and level of detail.
