Getting the Best from AI

Getting good results from AI is a skill — and it is one that improves quickly with practice. The key is learning how to write prompts that give the AI enough context to help you well.

What is a prompt?

A prompt is simply what you type to an AI. Every response you get is shaped by how you asked. A vague prompt gets a generic response. A specific, well-structured prompt gets a targeted, useful one.

The basics of a good prompt

Be specific about what you want. Instead of "help me with my email", try "help me write a polite but firm email to my landlord asking them to fix the hot water heater within 7 days."

Give context. AI has no idea who you are or what situation you are in unless you tell it. The more relevant context you provide, the better the response. "I am a primary school teacher preparing a parent newsletter about upcoming science week" gives the AI a far better starting point than nothing.

Specify the format. Do you want a list? A draft email? A summary in three sentences? Tell it. "In three bullet points" or "as a short email" at the end of a prompt often dramatically improves the result.

Iterating — the real skill

Rarely does the first response perfectly meet your needs. The most useful skill is not writing the perfect prompt first time — it is knowing how to follow up. "Make it shorter", "make the tone more casual", "add a section about X" — treating AI as a collaborative editor rather than a one-shot answer machine gets much better results.

A useful template

Try this structure: [Role] + [Task] + [Context] + [Format]

Example: "You are a friendly financial advisor. Explain the difference between KiwiSaver growth and conservative funds to a 30-year-old who has never invested before. Use simple language and keep it under 200 words."

Think of prompting like briefing a very capable but very literal assistant. The more clearly you communicate what you need, the better they can help.