Getting Started With AI Prompts: A Beginner's Guide

If you've ever typed something into ChatGPT or another AI tool and thought "well, that wasn't what I wanted at all," you're not alone. The thing is, AI is a bit like a very eager, very literal assistant. It'll do exactly what you ask — the trick is learning how to ask properly.

This guide is for complete beginners. No tech background needed. By the end, you'll know how to write prompts that get you genuinely useful results, every single time.

What Actually Is a Prompt?

A prompt is just the instruction you give to an AI tool. It's the message you type in the box. That's it. Nothing fancy, nothing technical — it's simply you telling the AI what you'd like it to do.

The quality of what you get back depends almost entirely on how you write that instruction. A vague prompt gets you a vague answer. A clear, specific prompt gets you something you can actually use.

The Golden Rule: Be Specific

This is the single most important thing to remember. The more detail you give, the better the result. Think of it like giving directions to someone who's never been to your town — "it's near the shops" isn't going to cut it, but "turn left at the Tesco, then it's the third house on the right" will get them there.

See the difference? The second prompt tells the AI who you are, what platform it's for, what you're promoting, the tone you want, the length, and what you'd like people to do. It's got everything the AI needs to give you something brilliant.

Tell It Who to Be

One of the best tricks for getting great results is to tell the AI what role to play. It completely changes the style and quality of what you get back.

By giving it a role, you're setting the tone and the level of expertise. You can tell it to be a marketing expert, a friendly customer service rep, a formal business consultant — whatever fits what you need.

Give It Context About Your Business

The AI doesn't know anything about your business unless you tell it. The more background you share, the more relevant and on-brand the results will be.

Now the AI knows your industry, your location, your audience, and your brand voice. The blog post it writes will feel like it actually came from your clinic, not from a random content mill.

Ask for What You Don't Want

This is a trick that a lot of people miss. As well as telling the AI what you do want, tell it what you don't want. It's really effective at steering the results in the right direction.

Those "don't" instructions act like guardrails. They stop the AI from going down the obvious, generic path and push it towards something that actually sounds like you.

Break Big Tasks Into Steps

If you need something complex, don't try to cram it all into one massive prompt. Break it into steps and build on each one. It's like cooking a meal — you wouldn't throw everything in the pan at once.

For example, if you want a full email marketing sequence, start with the first email. Get that right. Then say "now write the follow-up email that goes out three days later, building on the first one." The AI remembers what you've already discussed and builds on it naturally.

The Magic Phrase: "Write in the Style of..."

If you know the kind of tone you want but can't quite describe it, this phrase is your best friend. You can reference a general style rather than a specific person.

It's a shortcut that saves you having to explain every detail of the tone you're after.

Don't Forget to Proofread

AI is brilliant at getting you 90% of the way there, but it's not perfect. Always read through what it gives you and tweak anything that doesn't sound quite right. Add your own personality, fix any details it got wrong, and make sure it actually sounds like something you'd say.

Think of AI as a first draft machine. It does the heavy lifting, and you do the finishing touches. That's the sweet spot.

Give It a Go

The best way to get better at prompts is to practise. Try our free AI Prompt Builder tool on our homepage — it'll help you put together effective prompts for your specific industry and goals, even if you've never used AI before.