AI isn’t quite doing what you want: how to write prompts that get better results

You ask AI to write an email, summarize a text, or create a plan.

The answer comes quickly, but it’s just not quite right.

Too generic, too long, the wrong tone, or simply not what you meant.

So you try again. And then again. Before you know it, you’re spending more time refining the output than you were hoping to save.

Why a good AI prompt makes all the difference

AI can do a lot, but it needs clear instructions.

Imagine this: you have a long meeting report and want to quickly identify the most important action points.

You ask: “Can you summarize this report?”

You get a perfectly decent summary back, but it still doesn’t really give you what you need. What you actually want to know is: who needs to do what, and by when?

That’s when it helps to make your prompt more specific:

“Extract only the action points from this report. For each action point, state who is responsible, what needs to be done, and what deadline is mentioned. Present the result in a clear table. If any information is missing, do not make it up.”

Same document, same AI, but a much more useful result.

That’s essentially what prompt engineering is about: not asking AI for more, but being clearer about what you need.

Work smarter and more safely with AI

Using AI effectively isn’t just about writing better prompts.

AI can make mistakes, invent information, or sound very convincing even when something simply isn’t correct. That’s why it’s important to keep checking the output critically.

You also need to think carefully about the information you enter. Copying a customer file, personal data, or confidential business information into a public AI tool, for example, is not a good idea.

Working smart with AI means knowing not only what to ask, but also what to do with the answer.

From trial and error to a more focused approach

Writing good prompts is a skill you can learn. And if you regularly use AI for work, even small improvements can quickly make a difference.

Want to get better at it in a more structured way? In our e-learning course AI Prompt Engineering – Learn to Prompt Effectively, you’ll learn step by step how to use AI in a more focused, efficient, and responsible way. You’ll also work hands-on with an AI tool of your choice, so you can apply what you learn directly in your day-to-day work.

You’ll learn, among other things, how to:

• write better and clearer prompts;
• get AI to respond more precisely;
• critically review AI-generated output;
• speed up repetitive tasks with useful prompts;
• handle privacy and confidential information safely.

You don’t need to be an AI expert or a programmer to do this. Often, it simply starts with being clearer about what you want, who it’s for, and what the final result should look like.

Get more out of AI in your day-to-day work?

You don’t need to be a specialist to get better results. Once you learn how to structure a good prompt, you’ll get useful answers faster and spend less time starting over.

In the e-learning course AI Prompt Engineering – Learn to Prompt Effectively, you’ll learn in around 45–60 minutes how to write clear prompts, critically review AI-generated output, and use AI more consciously in your day-to-day work.

Start the e-learning course AI Prompt Engineering – Learn to Prompt Effectively.