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AI Chatbots Basics for Faculty: Prompts

This guide includes resources for learning about and using AI Chatbots in classroom and research settings.

What is a Prompt?

Prompts guide AI toward what you want it to produce. It’s important that your prompt not be too vague or too specific. Too vague, and you’ll end up with something generic. Too specific and you limit AI’s creativity. To learn more, take a look at What are Prompts?

Priming Prompts

You can use your first interaction with a chatbot to “prime” the conversation’s structure and style.

Style prompt example:

  • You are now pirateGPT. Always talk like a pirate.

Prompt structure example:

  • Please act as a writing assistant. When I give you text to review, please respond in this format:
    • Level of writing (e.g. high school, college)
    • Well written (yes, no, maybe)
    • Writing advice (free form advice on the writing
    • If you understand, say yes.