Why the AI needs your context
An AI starts every chat knowing a lot about the world and nothing about you. It does not know your boss, your budget or your customers. When it has to guess, it guesses the most common answer. That is why a vague prompt gets a bland reply that could be for anyone.
Context is the fix. It is the background only you know. You may have met it as one of the five parts of a prompt. This guide is about getting it right: what to include, how to paste it, and what to keep out.
The four things worth telling it
- Who it is for. The reader changes everything. A note to your landlord and a note to your best friend need different words, even when the news is the same.
- Why you want it. Say the real goal. "I want them to agree to a payment plan" gives the AI a target. "Write a letter" does not.
- What you already have. Paste the email you are answering, your notes, or the draft you started. The AI works far better from real material than from your memory of it.
- What matters most. If price beats speed, or kindness beats being short, say so. Otherwise the AI treats everything as equally important.
Before
write a message asking for a refund
After
Help me write a message asking for a refund. I bought running shoes online 3 weeks ago and the sole came loose after two runs. The store says returns must be within 30 days. I want my money back, not store credit. Keep it polite and firm, under 120 words, and mention that I have photos.
Every added line answers a question the AI would otherwise guess at: what happened, when, the store's rule, your goal and your tone.
Paste the real thing
When something already exists, paste it instead of describing it. "My manager sent a confusing email about the new schedule" leaves the AI guessing. The email itself does not. A few habits help the AI read what you paste:
- Label it. Write a short line like "Here is the email I got:" before you paste, so the AI knows what it is looking at.
- Fence it off. Put a line of three dashes above and below a long paste, so your instructions and your material stay apart.
- Say the job twice. A long paste can bury your request. Say what you want before the paste, then repeat it in one line after.
- Trim the noise. Cut old email threads, signatures and parts that do not matter. Less to read means less to get wrong.
You are a helpful assistant who reads carefully before answering. Here is my situation: [what is going on, in 2 or 3 sentences] Here is the material to work from: --- [paste the email, notes or document] --- What I need: [the job, like a reply, a summary or a plan] Use only the facts in my material. Do not add new ones. If something important is missing, ask me before you guess.
What to leave out
More context is not always better. With too much, the important part gets lost. Leave out:
- Private details. Passwords, account numbers, ID numbers and other people's private information do not belong in a chat. Cover them with XXXX before you paste. The guide on keeping your info safe has more.
- Background that does not change the answer. The AI does not need the whole story of your job, only the parts that touch this task.
- A second job. If you are pasting material for two different tasks, split them into two prompts.
A quick test before you send
Read your prompt as if you were a smart stranger. Could you do the job well with only what is written there? If you would need to ask a question first, add the answer now. Or let the AI do the asking. Our guide on letting AI ask you questions first shows how.
Not sure what context to add? Type your plain request into the prompt maker. It adds a blank for anything only you know, so you can see what to fill in.