Entrepreneurship often comes with a never-ending to-do list – and never enough hours in the day. By understanding the basics of artificial intelligence (AI), you can start using it as your assistant and streamline many time-consuming tasks. AI applications like ChatGPT are guided by simple prompts. While AI can understand natural language, high-quality prompts are the key to getting the most out of it.

What Is an AI prompt?

You don’t need special skills to start using AI – just a willingness to experiment. When you ask the right questions and provide the right context, the results are far more accurate. These instructions are called prompts, and they guide the AI’s output. A prompt can be a question, a command, or a piece of information. Quality content starts with a well-structured prompt.

Prompts for different needs

Prompts can be used for many different purposes, depending on what you’re trying to achieve. For example, AI can be an excellent tool for content creation – whether you need help brainstorming ideas or writing entire texts. You can ask AI to draft a blog post, come up with content for your next social media campaign, or rewrite your own text more clearly and professionally. AI can summarize reports, adjust tone, or organize messy content into a structured format. You can ask it to rewrite something directly, or provide feedback in a list format so you can choose what to implement.

AI can also support decision-making by comparing the pros and cons of different options. For instance, if you’re unsure which social media channels would work best for your business, AI can offer useful insights. It’s also a great helper when it comes to organizing information, like creating task lists or action plans.

However, always remember to fact-check information generated by AI. It’s best used as a source of support and inspiration – while the final decisions remain yours.

Our tips for writing better prompts

1. Be specific

Clarity and precision are key. Include the following when writing prompts:

  • Context: Provide background information that helps the AI understand your request.
  • Content type: Define whether you want a sales text, a report, code, etc.
  • Tone and audience: Tell the AI who the text is for and in what style it should be written.
  • Role: Ask the AI to act in a specific role—like content creator, customer service agent, or teacher.
  • What to include or avoid: Mention anything that must (or must not) be part of the content.
  • Examples: If you have a reference or want the AI to follow a specific structure, provide an example. A clear sample helps the AI better understand the desired tone, structure, and style—leading to a stronger outcome.

2. Experiment, refine, and start over if needed

Prompting is a process. Start with a simple instruction, then refine it by adding more context or adjusting your request. If the response doesn’t quite match what you had in mind, try rewording the prompt. Small changes, like clarifying the tone or output type, can make a big difference. Sometimes, starting a completely new conversation helps, especially since the AI may carry over context from previous messages, which can affect the answers.

3. Focus on one task at a time

One clear, specific goal per prompt helps the AI produce more accurate results. Break down complex requests into smaller steps. For example, if you want AI to write, proofread, and change the tone of a message – do each of those in separate prompts. This leads to better results and helps you fine-tune your instructions more easily along the way.

Try it for yourself

Learning how to write good prompts makes it easy to get started with AI. It’s surprisingly simple–the first step is just opening the app and giving it a try.

Also, remember to take care of your data security when using AI tools. Never enter confidential or sensitive information. For businesses, enterprise-level solutions like ChatGPT Enterprise offer stronger data protection, as user data is not used to train AI models.