How to Prompt Agents to Get Great Results

Prompting simply means telling your AI agent exactly what to do. The clearer your instructions, the better your results. To get the best output on your first try, imagine you are delegating the task to a human assistant—be calm, clear, and specific.

Last updated 14 days ago

The B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Method

Before writing a prompt, take two minutes to run through this framework to structure your thoughts:

  • B – Breathe: Pause for a moment to clarify your objective.

  • R – Result First: State your exact final deliverable right away ("I need a 5-bullet summary for our CFO").

  • E – Essential Context: Give only the necessary facts (who, what, where, when).

  • A – Audience & Tone: Define who will read it and how it should sound (VP-level, casual, formal legal).

  • T – Template or Format: Choose an explicit structure (Markdown checklist, 4-column table, email).

  • H – Helpful Examples: Paste a small sample paragraph or template to demonstrate your preferred style.

  • E – Edge Rules: Set strict boundaries and constraints ("Maximum 150 words," "Do not offer discounts").

The Building Blocks of a Perfect Prompt

For complex tasks, use copy-paste labels. Labels organize your thoughts, eliminate walls of text, and help the agent process information instantly.

Plaintext

Goal: [What you need] Context: [The key facts] Audience & Tone: [Who it is for + how it should sound] Sources: [File names or notes to use] Format: [The exact output shape—e.g., table columns, bullet points] Limits: [Word counts, restrictions, or do/don't rules] Example: [Optional: A tiny sample of your style]

Copy-Paste Prompt Templates

1. Executive Summary (Legal/Ops)

Goal: Create a 5-bullet executive summary for leadership.

Context: Summarize the key liability terms.

Audience & Tone: VP-level, concise, neutral.

Sources: Contract.pdf

Format: 5 bullets. Each bullet $\le$ 20 words. Include clause numbers.

Limits: State only facts; do not make assumptions.

2. Policy Comparison (Table)

Goal: Compare two internal policies and highlight core differences.

Context: Identify operational overlap and contradictions.

Sources: Policy_A.pdf, Policy_B.pdf

Format: 4-column table: Topic | Policy A | Policy B | Notable Differences

Limits: Cite exact page numbers for every noted difference.

3. Customer Support Reply (Email)

Goal: Draft a reply to a customer regarding a delayed shipment.

Context: Order #1845 delayed 3 days due to a warehouse outage; replacement has now shipped.

Audience & Tone: Friendly, apologetic, helpful.

Format: Professional email layout with greeting, 2 short paragraphs, and a numbered next-steps list.

Limits: $\le$ 120 words. Do not offer monetary discounts.

Before → After: Making Small Changes Count

  • ❌ Vague: "Summarize this."

    ✅ Better: "Create a 5-bullet summary of Contract.pdf for our CFO. Keep it under 80 words total and include page numbers."

  • ❌ Vague: "Write a vendor email."

    ✅ Better: "Draft a polite but firm 4-sentence email to the vendor regarding missing invoice #102. State the due date and ask them to resend it by Friday."

  • ❌ Vague: "Compare these two policies."

    ✅ Better: "Build a table comparing Policy A vs. Policy B. Columns: Topic | A | B | Impact. Highlight any direct policy conflicts in bold."

Troubleshooting & Pro-Tips

Prompting vs. Instructions (Use Both!)

  • Prompts are for right now. They dictate task-specific details for a single conversation.

  • Instructions are permanent rules. Use them to save your default corporate voice, email sign-offs, or layout preferences so you don't have to re-type them every day.

Expert Tips for Better Control

  • Assign a Role: Start your prompt by telling the agent who they are simulating ("Act as a senior DevOps engineer..." or "Act as a seasoned billing coordinator..."). This forces the agent to draw from specialized industry logic.

  • Iterate incrementally: If the output is too generic, don't rewrite the whole prompt. Just chat back with feedback: "Make paragraph 2 shorter," or "Put the financial data into a list."

  • Set Page/Section Constraints: If you upload a massive 50-page PDF but only care about the indemnity clause, tell the agent: "Analyze pages 12–14 only." This saves background tokens and keeps the focus razor-sharp.