What Is Prompt Engineering?

Prompt engineering

Prompt engineering is the practice of crafting inputs that guide AI tools, like ChatGPT, toward useful, reliable results. A prompt is more than a question. It’s your instructions, the context you provide, the format you want back, and the boundaries you set. Think of it like a creative brief for a very fast, very literal assistant.

Why it matters

AI responds to how you ask. A vague prompt like “Write a report on sales” may return a generic wall of text.
A clearer prompt generates tighter, more useful work. The difference isn’t the AI model; it’s the prompt. For example:

RCAF: Role, Context, Action, Format

• Role sets perspective: “You are a compliance officer…”
• Context supplies facts: “Here are the 5 policy updates…”
• Action clarifies the task: “Summarize impacts for HR managers…”
• Format defines output: “Return a table with columns: Update, Impact, Owner, Due Date.”

Common workplace uses

• Email drafting
• Meeting summaries
• Customer responses
• Marketing copy
• Project plans
• Quick first drafts of documents

Prompt engineering doesn’t replace thinking, it accelerates it, especially for early drafts and structured outputs.

Early pitfalls

1. Vagueness — not saying what good looks like
2. Missing context — asking the AI to invent facts
3. Unclear audience or tone — getting the wrong voice
4. No format — getting long text when you needed a bulleted list or table

Quick practice

Take a task you did this week. Write your usual prompt. Now add role, context, action, and format. Compare results. You’ll see why prompt engineering is a core workplace skill.