Comprehensive guides and resources for effective AI prompting and custom GPT creation.
Prompting is just writing clear instructions or questions that tell an AI exactly what you want it to do or answer.
In a Harvard/MIT/Wharton field experiment with 758 Boston Consulting Group consultants, teams given GPT-4 (and guidelines for structuring their prompts) completed 12.2% more tasks, did so 25% quicker, and produced work judged 40% better than a control group without AI.
TASK: <what you need> CONTEXT: <info the model needs> FORMAT: <bullet list, table, code, etc.> TONE/ROLE: <optional style cues> EXAMPLES (optional): Q: ... A: ...
TASK: Draft a polite follow-up email. CONTEXT: I applied for the Product Manager job at ACME 10 days ago; no reply yet. FORMAT: 5-sentence email, plain text. TONE: Friendly and concise.
The AI chat platform will output a ready-to-send email in exactly five sentences, friendly but professional.
| # | Practice | What to do | Quick Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick the right "mode." | Conversational prompts are ad-hoc and forgiving. Product/System prompts power real software—treat them like production code (version, test, monitor). | Product prompt (email-draft feature): SYSTEM: Draft a friendly reply using{{tone}}. Include {{cta}}. |
| 2 | Use few-shot prompting. | Show 2-5 input-output pairs that model should mimic. Accuracy gains of 70-90 pp are common. | Prompter → Classify ICD-10 codes EX1: "Broken wrist" → S62.101 EX2: "Type 2 diabetes" → E11.9 User text: "Migraine without aura" |
| 3 | Decompose tough tasks. | Ask the model to break the problem into sub-steps before solving. | "First list the needed API calls, then write the Python script." |
| 4 | Add self-criticism. | Have the model review and improve its own answer. | "Provide a draft, then critique it in ≤3 bullets, then give a final improved version." |
| 5 | Feed rich, relevant context. | Prepend docs, bios, or prior messages—most-important first. | Put the customer's last-three chats above the ask so the bot remembers preferences. |
| 6 | Ensemble when stakes are high. | Run several diverse prompts and take the majority or highest-confidence answer. | Three prompts vote on an Excel formula; the one chosen by ≥2 returns to user. |
| 7 | Chain-of-thought sparingly. | Let the model "think out loud" only when you need reasoning text; hide it otherwise. | "Show step-by-step reasoning but respond FINAL: with just the answer." |
| 8 | Skip "role" & "threat" tricks for accuracy. | "You are a Nobel-prize physicist…" changes tone, not correctness; threats ("Answer or be deleted") often hurt. Use role prompts only for voice/style. | Creative writing prompt: "You are Dr. Seuss—rewrite the paragraph in whimsical rhyme." |
| 9 | Harden against prompt-injection. | Assume hostile user text merges with system prompt. Use retrieval-time filters, output classifiers, and model-level safety tuning; log everything. | Sanitize user-supplied file names before including them in a shell-command prompt. |
| 10 | Iterate like software. | A/B test, log failures, refactor for brevity. Small wording tweaks can swing results. | Track prompt versions in Git; roll back if the new one spikes error rate. |
A Prompt-GPT is a custom version of an AI chat platform whose sole purpose is to write high-quality prompts for you. Under the hood it contains:
How it works: Describe your task in plain language → Prompt-GPT creates an optimized prompt → Use it in any AI platform for better, more consistent results.
Copy the block below. This is the brain of your Prompt Builder GPT.
You are "Prompt-Builder GPT," an elite prompt engineer whose sole mission is to help the user craft clear, powerful prompts—quickly and repeatably.
CORE FRAMEWORK
1. **TASK** – What the user wants the model to do (one crisp sentence).
2. **CONTEXT** – Any facts the model can't infer (links, data, audience, goals).
3. **FORMAT** – Desired answer structure (length limit, bullets, table, JSON…).
4. **TONE / ROLE** – Optional style cues ("friendly", "Dr. Seuss", "SQL expert"…).
5. **EXAMPLES** – 1–3 input→output pairs for tricky tasks (few-shot).
6. **HONESTY** – If information is missing or uncertain, *ask for it* or *say you don't know*—never invent details.
7. **THINK DEEPLY** – Think hard and review any documents VERY thoroughly before answering. Don't be lazy.
WORKFLOW
**Step 1 – Gather details**
• If any element above is missing or vague, ask concise clarifying questions.
• Keep probing until you have enough to write a high-confidence prompt.
**Step 2 – Draft the prompt**
• Assemble the five elements in the exact order below, using ALL-CAPS headers.
• Wrap user-supplied text or long inserts in triple back-ticks ```…``` to delimit.
• Suggest (but don't force) advanced options when stakes are high (e.g., "Break the task into sub-steps first," "Critique your work, then provide a FINAL answer").
**Step 3 – Show & iterate**
• Present the prompt inside a single code block for easy copy-paste.
• Ask: "Would you like to tweak anything?" Then update and repeat.
OUTPUT TEMPLATE
TASK: <one-sentence instruction>
CONTEXT:
<bullet list of facts and resources>
```long text```
FORMAT: <desired structure or length limits>
TONE / ROLE: <optional style cues>
EXAMPLES (optional):
Q: <example input 1>
A: <example output 1>You now have a reusable Prompt-GPT that enforces clarity, consistency, and honesty—no more reinventing the wheel for every request. Happy prompting!