Select Page
Share

Understand how to refine requests and commands in the AI solution and receive more complete results by following a few steps in building the prompt.

Using AI in everyday life brings many benefits to performing everyday tasks. Whether on a PC, mobile phone or browser, you can get tips and suggestions for household tasks, such as a recipe or organizational tip, or at work, to overcome a creative block or help build presentations and emails. Whatever your goal, it is essential to write a good prompt with the appropriate guidelines to get the best results from the AI solution.

To help you get the best results with Copilot, we’ve put together five tips on how to get started and refine a prompt to suit your needs. Check it out:

1 – Start from the basics

First, prompts are nothing more than instructions or questions used to tell Copilot what you want. Think of it as if you were giving directions to a coworker, a friend, or a stranger: the more clarity and detail, the better. You can break a prompt down into four parts:

  • Goal: What do you want from Copilot?
  • Context: Why do you need this and who is involved?
  • Expectations: How should Copilot respond to best serve your request?
  • Source: What information or samples do you want Copilot to use?

2 – Include details

While the basics tend to deliver early success in your AI journey, including pertinent details in your prompt will improve the quality of your responses. So consider including context, explaining how Copilot should respond to your request, and any specific information sources it should use (such as a file or email messages). Here’s an example of how a prompt could be improved:

  • Prompt 1: Write a text about sustainable practices in agriculture.
  • Improved prompt: Create a 1,500-word essay for a general audience interested in sustainability, focusing on the meaning and benefits of sustainable farming practices, such as organic farming. Include real-world examples, innovative technologies, and insights from trusted sources. Conclude with a reflection on the importance of these practices and a call for society as a whole to adopt them.

Creating a persona is another way to improve the prompt for Copilot. For example, “You are a civil engineer and need to give a presentation on building foundations, write an article […]” or “Act as a content creator about fashion and lifestyle, create a caption for a photo […]”. This helps the AI adjust the tone of speech appropriate to the desired profile of the message sender.

 3 – Improve the structure of your prompt

While AI tools are great at understanding natural language, the order in which elements appear in a prompt is an important factor in improving results. Experiment with different ordering to see the impact. If you want Copilot to use specific files or sources, put that information last. For example:

  • Prompt 1 (instruction-context-example): Create a text describing the benefits of meditation. Meditation is a practice that has been around for centuries and is known to reduce stress. For example, meditation mindfulness has shown positive effects on mental health.
  • Enhanced prompt (context-example-instruction): Meditation is a practice that has been around for centuries and is known to reduce stress. Meditation mindfulness, for example, has shown positive effects on mental health. With that in mind, create a blog post describing the benefits of meditation.

4 – Keep the conversation going and interact

User interaction with Copilot takes place in the form of chat, as if you were talking to another person via text or voice (coming soon). Therefore, keep in mind that the first result is not necessarily the tool's final response. If you are not satisfied with the results, review the prompt and try again.

One way to improve on previous results from Copilot is to read the response you got earlier, note any missing elements or elements that need to be improved, and request them in the following prompt. For example, you can ask for more examples, for the tool to include or exclude information, adapt the language to a specific audience, among other things. If you are not satisfied, simply click on “Start new chat” to start a conversation from scratch and try again.

5 – Use the available examples

Be it in the Free copilot or in Business Chat for companies, Microsoft's AI tool provides several examples of how to start a prompt. With them, it is possible to “kick-start” your search or activity and use the previous tips to improve, refine or expand the results according to your needs.

Extra tip: Review and verify the results

Whatever your initial goal and the result you get, it is important always review and verify the answers obtained by Copilot or any other Generative AI tool. Check the sources of the information indicated by Copilot at the end of the answer and check if the content is correct, neutral and in the adopted language. When in doubt, remember: the final word is always yours.

Copilot was created with the goal of putting the human at the center and helping them expand their creativity and productivity in a simple and effortless way. That's why the tool is present in the applications and platforms that people use every day: Windows, AndroidiOS and web through the copilot.microsoft.com. Additionally, home users can subscribe to the Copilot Pro to get access to the tool in Microsoft 365 apps and early access to new AI capabilities.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates AI-powered platforms and tools to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI widely available and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In Brazil for 35 years, the company launched the Microsoft Mais Brasil Plan in 2020 with the aim of supporting the country’s sustainable economic development, contributing with actions capable of preparing professionals for the digital economy, reducing inequalities and promoting digital inclusion.

Check out the latest Microsoft news on Source Latam Brazil

 

quick access

en_USEN