Prompt explained for experts

A prompt is a structured input to a language model that influences its generative behavior.

It may include instructions, context, roles, examples (few-shot), and constraints to control the output.

Prompt engineering involves systematically designing and refining prompts to achieve consistent and high-quality results.

Prompts are central to interacting with large language models and significantly determine output quality.

Definition:
A prompt is an input or instruction provided to an AI model that guides and influences its output.

Source:
Brown et al. – Language Models are Few-Shot Learners, OpenAI, 2020; and general literature on prompt engineering.