A good AI prompt says what you want done, the context that matters, the limits to stay within, what the answer should look like, and how good it needs to be. Most disappointing AI answers come from prompts that leave one or more of those out — the model fills the gaps with generic guesses.
The 5-part prompt checklist
1. The task
Start with a clear action and deliverable: “draft”, “compare”, “summarise”, “plan”, “explain”, “fix”. "Marketing plan" is a topic; "Create a 3-month marketing plan" is a task.
2. The context
Who is it for, what is the situation, and what is the scale? "For my bakery in Pune that opened last month, mostly takeaway customers" changes the answer completely.
3. The constraints
Budget, timeline, location, tools, must-haves and things to avoid. In India, say the budget in ₹ and mention the city or state when rules, prices or customers depend on it.
4. The output
Format, length and structure: a table, five bullet points, an email under 150 words, step-by-step instructions. If you don't say, you'll usually get several paragraphs.
5. The quality bar
Tone, depth or what "good" means: "formal for a bank", "simple enough for a first-time founder", "include sources for every figure".
Before and after
| Weak prompt | Strong prompt |
|---|---|
| Make a marketing plan | Create a 3-month marketing plan for my new bakery in Pune with a total budget of ₹1 lakh. Split the budget by channel (Instagram, Google Business Profile, local food bloggers, in-store offers), give weekly actions, and present it as a table with a 100-word summary. |
| Write an email to a client | Write a polite follow-up email to a client in Chennai who hasn't paid an invoice of ₹45,000 that was due 10 days ago. Keep it under 120 words, friendly but firm, and suggest paying by UPI or bank transfer this week. |
| Explain GST | Explain how GST works for a freelance designer in India billing clients in India and abroad. Use simple language, cover registration threshold and export of services, and end with a 5-point checklist. |
Things to avoid
- Asking for facts the AI can't know. Your own sales figures, meeting notes or contract text must be pasted in. A good habit: add a clear placeholder like [Paste the meeting notes here] and fill it before you send.
- Five questions in one prompt. Split unrelated tasks into separate messages.
- "Make it better". Say what is wrong: too long, too formal, missing numbers, wrong audience.
Let the prompt score help
EsteemWay rates your prompt from 1 to 10 as you type. Click the score to see what's missing, pick the options that fit — budgets in ₹, your city, the format you want — and Enhance prompt rewrites it to score 9 or above in one click. It also uses the conversation so far, so a short follow-up isn't marked vague when the earlier messages already give the context.