Effective Prompting

What is a prompt?

A prompt is the instruction you give Copilot. It is also your only control over what comes out.

Many people use Copilot like a search bar: a few words and hit enter. Short questions get generic answers. Copilot doesn't know where you work, who it's for or what you will do with it, unless you tell it.

AI predicts words. A language model predicts the most likely next word, based on your input and patterns from billions of texts. It always starts writing, even when it doesn't know enough. The better your instruction, the less Copilot has to guess.

When do you write a sharp prompt?

Prompting in 3 building blocks

Write your prompt as if you were handing a job to a new colleague. What do you ask, what do you tell them, what do you expect back? Below is an example for each building block. Together they make one prompt.

1. Task: what should Copilot do, and what for?

Start with a verb (write, compare, check, summarise), name the subject or file and end with "so that". With "so that", Copilot knows what the result is for. Then it makes better choices itself about what goes in and what can be left out.

Write a proposal to improve how customer questions are handled, so that the MT can decide on next year's budget in November.

2. Context: what should Copilot know?

Give Copilot what a new colleague would also want to know. Who is it for? What is going on? What should Copilot watch out for? A file you attach is context too. This is where the biggest gains are.

The MT has never handled customer questions themselves. The director wants to see the value for the customer first, then the costs. An earlier proposal was rejected because the costs were unclear.

3. Output: what should the result look like?

Describe format, length, tone and sources. Ask for a table with four columns, and that is the table you get. The more precisely you describe it, the more precisely you get it back.

One A4 page with four headings: proposal, value for the customer, costs, question for the MT. Max. 3 sentences per heading, only figures from the document.

Say what Copilot should do

A ban such as "no jargon" actually puts that word in the spotlight. Write "in plain language" instead. Have you attached a document? Then write: "Use only facts and figures from the attached document."

Dictating gives more context. Speaking often gives far more context than typing. Use the microphone in Copilot Chat, or Home > Dictate in Word.

Same report, two prompts

Two prompts for the same quarterly report. The first gives three loose insights. The second gives four sections the MT can work with.

More examples for work you do every week are in the prompt library.

Write, test, improve

1. Write your prompt in a text document first, in Notepad or Word. Three blocks, one below the other: task, context, output. You think it through better than when you type straight into the chat.
2. Copy your prompt into a new chat and attach your file if you have one.
3. Would you send this as it is? Whatever you would still change, put it in your prompt. Then test again. Anything you still change afterwards should have been in your prompt.

Let Copilot improve your prompt

You have the context in your head, but Copilot only sees what is on paper. With this prompt, Copilot first asks what is missing and then writes a better version. It works for any prompt.

Note: Enter sends straight away. Use Shift+Enter for a new line.

3 prompt tips

New task, new chat. Copilot carries everything from the conversation along. Different topic? Start a new chat.

Let Copilot ask first. "Ask me questions first before you begin." Otherwise Copilot starts straight away, even when it doesn't know enough.

Ask for three versions. "Give me 3 different versions." Choosing is easier than correcting.

Explaining the same thing every time? Put it in your instructions. Who you are, who you write for and how you want answers: set it up once. Copilot then uses it in every chat. How to set up custom instructions