Video · 7 min · Lesson 1 of 9
Why prompts fail
Most weak answers come from unclear instructions, not from a weak model.
Transcript
When people are disappointed by AI, the prompt is usually one line long: write a post about our new service. The model has no idea who the audience is, what the service does, what tone the brand uses or how long the post should be, so it fills every gap with the most generic choice.
Think of the model as a very capable new colleague on their first day. They know a lot in general and nothing about your company, your client or what you consider good. Everything you would explain to that colleague belongs in the prompt.
The fix is rarely clever wording. It is missing information: who the text is for, what the result will be used for, what to include and avoid, and what shape the answer should take.
Key takeaways
- Short prompts get generic answers because the model fills gaps with defaults.
- Brief the model like a capable colleague on their first day.
- Better prompts add missing information, not magic words.