A prompt is the instruction, question or text a person writes to an artificial intelligence so that it generates a response. It is what you type into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. The quality of what the tool returns depends largely on how you ask.
What a prompt is and what it is for
The word means a cue or an invitation to respond. It is used to ask an AI for any task it can solve with text, images or code: drafting an email, summarizing a document, translating, creating an image or fixing a program.
Interest is high: in Chile alone, the Spanish query for “what is a prompt” gets about 3,600 Google searches a month, according to the data we reviewed.
The parts of a good prompt
| Part | What it states | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Task | What you want it to do | “Write an email” |
| Context | The situation and who it is for | “to a customer who complained about a delay” |
| Format | How the answer should look | “in three short paragraphs” |
| Tone | The style | “formal and friendly” |
| Limits | What it must not do | “without offering discounts” |
Example of a bad prompt and a good one
| Vague prompt | Clear prompt |
|---|---|
| “Write about coffee” | “Write a 150-word text on the benefits of coffee for a product label, in a friendly tone and with no medical claims” |
| “Summarize this” | “Summarize this report in five points for a manager who has two minutes” |
Common mistakes when writing a prompt
- Being too brief: the AI fills the gaps with assumptions.
- Not saying who it is for: the same topic is explained differently to a child and to an expert.
- Asking for several things at once: it is better to go step by step.
- Trusting it without checking: these tools can make up facts. Verify figures, names and quotes.
For more technology explainers, see what a podcast is and what the Wayback Machine is.
Frequently asked questions
What is a prompt?
The instruction or question you write to an artificial intelligence to get a response.
Does a prompt have to be long?
No, but it should include the task, the context and the format you expect.
Does a prompt have to be in English?
No. The main tools understand many languages.
