Using effective prompts to get the most out of AI

Text generation software using artificial intelligence contributes greatly to business operations, enabling organizations to deliver content at scale and respond rapidly to market needs. However, maximizing AI’s value requires more than issuing basic instructions (prompts). Working with AI is a little like working with another human being. You should think of using an AI tool as engaging in a conversation. Feedback can be given to AI using natural-sounding language, much like you might use with an intern or colleague.

The quality of prompts provided to AI determines the value of the output. Even the most advanced systems require clear, purpose-driven prompts to generate content that achieves specific business objectives. Expert prompt writing aligns instructions precisely with desired outcomes. Each is an opportunity to guide AI output with intention and sophistication—a process that merges creativity with analytical rigor.

Successful content generation begins with clarity. Clearly defined objectives, attention to the nuances of your target audience, and a purposeful choice of depth and style underpin every effective prompt. Ambiguity leads to missed opportunities.

To use AI effectively, users need to distill complex requirements and write them into a prompt similar to instructions one might give a human being tasked with the assignment. Prompts should explicitly define deliverables as well as tone and brand voice. Some AI software enables users to maintain an entire library of samples, or models, to use for tone and brand voice, and these can be easily employed in each new content generation session to constrain and shape the finished product.

AI prompts should include the context in which the content will be used. Context can be provided by inserting relevant examples into the software—examples such as previous campaigns, branded content or press releases. If you want to match the tone of one of your organization’s representatives or a specific journalist, copy in an example of their work and tell the AI program to match that tone and style. LinkedIn posts can be a particularly valuable source of published content that can be used as a stylistic model for AI to follow.

Once you’ve done the work of building an effective prompt, save it and begin building your prompt library. Having such a library will enable you “cut and paste” complex instructions, making only minor, situation-dependent modifications, thus saving time.

To successfully generate content using AI, you need to be aware of what “thinking” AI can currently do, and what it needs help with. Experienced communicators have learned how to create structured prompts, ensuring fast, efficient use of AI software and optimizing results.

Talk with AOE today about how we are using safe, secure AI software—with data protection to ensure your organizations’ private content does not become public--to expedite content creation. AOE can help guide you through both AI’s pitfalls and its possibilities.