Prompt power: how to ask
Good questions get good answers. Learn the recipe for a great prompt. Finish the quick check to earn the Prompt Pilot badge.
Mission goal
Write prompts that get the AI to do exactly what you want.
What's a prompt?
A prompt is what you tell the AI. Think of it like giving directions to someone who's super fast but has never been to your house. The clearer your directions, the better the result.
The great-prompt recipe
- Goal: what do you want? ("Make a page about my dog")
- Details: colors, size, words, who it's for
- Example: "like the cards on my Arcade page"
- Steps: "tell me your plan first"
- Check: "show me before you change anything"
Meh prompt vs. great prompt
Meh: "make it cooler". The AI has to guess what cool means to you.
Great: "Make the Play button gold, make it a little bigger, and make it bounce when I hover. Tell me your plan first." Now there's nothing to guess.
One thing at a time
Big wishes like "redo my whole website" are hard to check. Small steps are easier to test and easier to undo if something goes wrong.
Try it: upgrade a prompt
Take this meh prompt: "write a story". Upgrade it with the recipe: who is the story about, how long, funny or scary, and who is going to read it. Then try the Prompt builder in Harlan's AI Lab.
Answer to earn your badge
Get every question right. Wrong answers are fine: just try again.
Badge earned: Prompt Pilot!
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