Glossary — Fundamentals
Prompt
A prompt is the instruction you give an AI — everything you type, from a single word to a multi-page brief.
1 tokensPrompt
Simply put#
A prompt is a work order. The more precisely you write it, the more usable the answer. "Write a post" gets you something mediocre. "Write a LinkedIn post for the owner of a construction company, 120 words, no emoji, in the tone you would use with a colleague" gets you something you can publish.
Example#
A good prompt usually contains four things: context, role, task, and the form the answer should take.
Why it matters to you#
Most disappointment with AI does not come from a bad model. It comes from a prompt that was too short.