Prompt engineering is the skill of crafting effective inputs for AI models to get the best possible outputs. This guide will take you from beginner to expert.
What is Prompt Engineering?
Prompt engineering is the practice of designing and refining inputs (prompts) to AI language models to achieve specific, high-quality outputs.
Basic Principles
- Be Specific: The more specific your prompt, the better the response
- Provide Context: Give the AI background information relevant to your request
- Set the Role: Tell the AI who it should act as
- Define the Format: Specify how you want the output structured
Advanced Techniques
Chain of Thought
Ask the AI to think step-by-step through complex problems.
Few-Shot Learning
Provide examples of what you want in your prompt.
Role Prompting
Assign a specific expert role to the AI for better domain-specific responses.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Being too vague
- Not providing enough context
- Asking for too much at once
- Not iterating on your prompts
