- Splitting a request into goal, context, material and answer format
- Starting short and fixing only what drifted
- What to check before using an answer and before pasting documents
The short answer
AI answers often drift because the conditions you have in your head never made it into the question. Splitting your request into four parts, goal, context, material and answer format, makes those conditions easier to convey. Even so, a well-built question does not guarantee a correct answer. Check numbers and dates against the original material before you use them.
The four things to tell it
The instruction or question you send to a generative AI is called a prompt. These are the four elements worth putting in it.
| Element | What to write |
|---|---|
| Goal | What you want to produce, and why |
| Context | Who will read it, how long it should be, the situation |
| Material | The facts or documents it may use |
| Answer format | Order, bullets or prose, anything to avoid |
For example, if you only ask "write a staff notice," the AI does not know the readers or the length, so it fills the gaps with generic text. The date in the example below is a fictional one, used only for illustration.
Goal: Write an internal notice announcing a change to the shared folder.
Context: Readers are staff who are not comfortable with IT. About 80 words.
Material: The change takes effect on November 1. The old folder becomes read-only. The new location is "Common / Work Documents".
Answer format: State the change first, then the steps staff need to take. Do not add anything that is not in the material; ask me if something is unclear.Split the request into four parts
- What it is for
- What you want made
- Who will read it
- Length and setting
- Facts it may use
- Nothing beyond the material
- Order, list or prose
- What to avoid
Longer is not automatically better
Adding more and more detail does not always help. Long instructions can end up with conditions that contradict each other, and it gets harder to tell which ones matter most. It is usually easier to send the four elements as one short line each, look at the result, and add only what is missing.
How to correct a drifting answer
When you ask for changes, say what to change and how, rather than "make it better."
- "The second sentence uses jargon. Say 'where files are saved' instead."
- "Turn the instructions into numbered steps."
- "It is over 80 words. Shorten it but keep the change itself."
It also helps to say plainly that it should not add facts that are not in your material. AI can write things that sound plausible but are untrue, which is called a hallucination. The line "do not add anything that is not in the material" in the example is there for that reason.
Check before you use it, and before you paste
Before using an answer, compare numbers, dates and proper names against the source. For the notice above, confirm that the date and folder name match the material. An answer that seems to follow your instructions can still contain errors.
The other thing to watch is what you put in. IPA, Japan's Information-technology Promotion Agency, lists leaks of personal information and trade secrets among AI-related risks, and its tips for AI users include not giving trade secrets to cloud-based AI. Before pasting work documents, check your organization's rules and how the service you use handles what you enter.
Unless your rules explicitly allow it, do not enter information that must not leave the company, such as customer lists or unpublished figures.
In summary
Checklist
- Did you write the goal, context, material and answer format separately?
- Did you start short and add only what was missing?
- When correcting, did you say where and how to change it?
- Did you ask it not to add information beyond your material?
- Did you check numbers, dates and names against the source?
- Before entering anything, did you check your organization's rules and the service's data handling?
One thing to check today
Pick one question you often ask an AI and rewrite it in four parts: goal, context, material and answer format.