Decide where the answer is going
Before you ask, think about what you will do with the answer. Will you read it on your phone, paste it into an email, print it, or drop it into a spreadsheet? That tells you the format. A text message needs a few short lines. A plan you will follow needs numbered steps. A comparison needs a table.
If you do not say, the AI picks for you. You might get long paragraphs and headings when all you wanted was three lines.
Formats to ask for by name
| Ask for | Good for |
|---|---|
| A numbered list of steps | How-to tasks, recipes, setting something up |
| A bulleted list | Ideas, pros and cons, things to pack or buy |
| A table with these columns: ... | Comparing options, schedules, budgets |
| Short headings with 2 or 3 lines under each | Longer answers you will skim later |
| One paragraph, under 80 words | Quick answers, bios, short notes |
| A checklist, one task per line | Things to do before a deadline or a trip |
| Plain text with no headings or bold | Text you will paste into an email or a form |
Before
compare these three phone plans for me
After
Compare the three phone plans I pasted below. Make a table with one row per plan and these columns: monthly price, data, contract length and the catch. Under the table, write 2 sentences on which plan fits someone who uses little data and wants no contract.
Naming the columns tells the AI exactly what to look for in each plan, and gives you a table you can read in seconds.
Use numbers for length
Words like "short" and "brief" mean different things to everyone. Numbers do not. Try these:
- "Under 100 words" or "about 300 words"
- "3 bullet points, one line each"
- "5 options" instead of "a few ideas"
- "Under 160 characters, so it fits in one text"
AI follows rough limits well, but its exact counts are not always right. If length really matters, like a text message or a form with a limit, ask it to show the count, then check it yourself.
Make it ready to paste
Where the text is going matters too. Bold and headings that look great in a chat can turn into stray symbols somewhere else.
- Email or text. Ask for plain text with no headings, no bold and no bullet symbols.
- Spreadsheet. Ask for a table, or one item per line with commas between the parts, so it pastes into columns. The guide on AI with spreadsheets has more.
- Slides. Ask for one heading per slide and no more than 4 short bullets under each.
- Just the answer. Add "No intro and no closing notes" when you only want the thing itself.
You are an organized assistant who makes answers easy to use. Help me with this: [your request] Format: [the format, like a table with columns for task, owner and due date] This is going into [where it will go, like an email or a spreadsheet], so make it ready to paste there, with no intro or notes before or after. Keep it under 250 words. If my format does not fit the answer well, say so and suggest a better one.
Have a prompt you use all the time? The prompt fixer gives it a clear role and format, then shows you what changed.
Got the right answer in the wrong shape? You do not need to start over. Reply "Same content, but as a table" in the same chat. More fixes like this are in follow-up prompts.