Back to the AI glossary Basics
Prompt
The input or instruction you give to an AI model.
Explanation
A prompt is the text you send to an AI model - a question, instruction, or context. The quality of the prompt largely determines the quality of the answer.
How it works
The model reads your prompt and generates the most likely continuation. The more precise and structured your prompt, the better the result.
Example
"Summarize this contract in 3 bullet points" is a concrete prompt. "Tell me about the contract" is a vague prompt with worse results.
Why it matters
Prompt design is a core skill when dealing with AI - the right instruction makes the difference between useless and brilliant output.