The most dangerous thing about social media and education in the AI space is the lack of expertise. Because creating a prompt seems as simple as putting up a Craigslist ad, any Crypto Bro, Social Media Momfluencer, and Converted Boomer thinks they can wax philosophical on Prompt Engineering.

Are these large language models like ChatGPT amazing tools to help you improve your business, your knowledge, and your life? Absolutely.

Can they send you down a misleading path and unintentionally walk you straight into danger? For sure.

In this series, we’re burning through some of the high-profile prompts that are being published on social media and top-tier websites. Most Prompt Engineers have good intentions, they’re obsessed with the tech like we are. But most of us are marketing ourselves or our businesses for a buck down the road.

Let’s call them out and burn them down.

Meet Jodie Cook. A guest columnist for Forbes. She publishes the Buzzfeed version of business prompts.

Her greatest hits?

• 8 ChatGPT Prompts To Be More Elon Musk
• 5 ChatGPT Prompts To Increase Your Business IQ
• 4 ChatGPT Prompts To Unleash Your Entrepreneurial Genius

Now in fairness to Jodie, not all of her articles are clickbait or misleading. She’s put out a fantastic list of tips that speak to some of the key prompt tips that we recommend at AIPRM. She’s obviously very smart and great at what she does.

But let’s take a look at a recent piece that was published in late July:

ChatGPT: The 5 Most Popular Prompts Used By Entrepreneurs

In this article, she’s put together a few interesting concepts for entrepreneurial prompts.

She tackles ideas for new businesses, marketing strategies, optimizing business operations, raising money, and business expansion.

Using ChatGPT for ideation? Excellent.

It’s a great way to leverage the model’s extensive training. The problem with these prompts is that they let the variables do a bit too much of the heavy lifting without providing guidance on how to fill in the blanks.

Vague prompts lead to vague and generalized outputs. 

The harsh reality for entrepreneurs using generative AI for their business is that they still need to understand their business, their goals, and the details that allow ChatGPT to help them.

So as we dig into Jodie’s prompts, the question we have to ask ourselves is, “How much prompt engineering do we need to do to get something that’s useful?”

We’ll assess these prompts based on the following criteria:

Role – Objective – Format – Context – Scope – Examples – Constraints – Audience – Citations – Perspectives – Counterarguments – Analogies

Do you need all of these elements for a functional prompt? No.

Will these elements provide ChatGPT with the instructions and context to give the most helpful output an LLM can? Definitely.

Let’s jack some prompts.

The business idea prompt – Jodie Cook – Forbes

Prompt:

I’m looking for business ideas in [describe your industry or area of expertise] within the parameters of [describe the essential elements of the idea]. Can you suggest some innovative and profitable opportunities?

Prompt Analysis:

❌ Role: This prompt doesn’t place ChatGPT in a specific role and point of view.

✅ Objective: Yes. We need business ideas that are innovative and profitable.

❌ Format: This prompt is conversational and not formatted.

✅ Context: Yes, we do get some context around the business idea being innovative and profitable. The variable also asks to provide the industry and essential elements of the idea. It’s not a ton of context, but depending on the details you add, it can be contextual.

❌ Scope: We don’t have any scope for the project in terms of the type of business ideas longevity, the number of business ideas, or the type.

❌ Examples: We don’t have any examples of business ideas for ChatGPT to start with.

✅ Constraints: Depending on details, the parameters of essential elements can act as constraints.

❌ Audience: We don’t have clues into who the audience of this output is for.

❌ Citations: If we were using an internet-connected version of ChatGPT(Bard, Bing, Claude, or Plugins), we wouldn’t have any citation references. (Not necessary)

❌ Perspectives: No guiding perspectives. What constitutes a quality business idea? (Not necessary)

❌ Counterarguments: No examples of bad business ideas beyond the constraints. (Not necessary)

❌ Analogies: No analogies are included in the prompt. (Not necessary)

To see what we’re working with, we’ll test this prompt out on ChatGPT-3.5 with the following input:

Industry: 

• Restaurants

Parameters for Essential Elements: 

• Located in the Northeast
• Under $300,000 Startup Capital
• Suburban Location
• Minimal Staff

Our new prompt looks like this:

I’m looking for business ideas in the Restaurant industry within the parameters of being located in a suburban location in the northeast of the United States, with under $300,000 in startup capital and a minimal number of employees. Can you suggest some innovative and profitable opportunities?

ChatGPT-3.5 Output

Initial analysis:

This prompt works at the surface. The ideas aren’t awful, but they’re very general and lacking in innovation. Things like a Health-Focused Cafe, Catering Service, or Deli might be profitable (might) but they’re not innovative. Gourmet Food Trucks and Virtual Kitchens are a bit more innovative, but you can tell the ideas are based on a model that was trained up until 2021.

And you can tell, it’s not just the ChatGPT’s fault. 

Bard Output

Claude Output

So how would we improve this prompt?

Improved AIPRM Level Prompt

Role: As a business consultant specializing in the [industry] sector, my objective is to offer well-researched, innovative, and profitable business opportunities tailored to your specific circumstances.

Objective: To recommend a curated list of feasible business concepts within the [industry] industry, designed to meet your unique criteria for success.

Format: The deliverables will be a list of promising business ideas. Lead with the innovation in the title. Each business idea should be accompanied by a concise explanation, an approximate budget outline, and an identification of potential challenges.

Context: The recommendations are designed for individuals looking to launch a business in a [type of environment] in [specific geographical area or virtually], and are constrained by a [predetermined budget] and [list of limitations].

Scope: The list will only include business ideas that can realistically be implemented with a startup capital of less than [specific amount].

Examples: For each business idea, real-world examples or case studies will be provided to illustrate the concept’s viability and profitability.

Constraints: All suggestions will adhere to the limits set by your startup budget, location-specific regulations or market conditions, and [any other constraints required].

Audience: These recommendations are intended for aspiring entrepreneurs or established business owners seeking to diversify into the [industry] sector, within the prescribed parameters.

Perspectives: The business ideas will be approached from a multi-faceted viewpoint, considering not only profitability but also customer demand and community impact.

Counterarguments: Alongside each business idea, potential challenges and drawbacks will be outlined, with suggestions for mitigation strategies.

(Citations and Analogies were left off this example)

What does this new prompt look like with our parameters and how does it perform?

Role: As a business consultant specializing in the food and hospitality sector, my objective is to offer well-researched, innovative, and profitable business opportunities tailored to your specific circumstances.

Objective: To recommend a curated list of feasible business concepts within the restaurant industry, designed to meet your unique criteria for success.

Format: The deliverables will be a list of promising business ideas. Lead with the innovation in the title. Each business idea should be accompanied by a concise explanation, an approximate budget outline, and an identification of potential challenges.

Context: The recommendations are designed for individuals looking to launch a business in a suburban environment in a specific geographical area, and are constrained by a predetermined startup budget and minimal staffing requirements.

Scope: The list will only include business ideas that can realistically be implemented with a startup capital of less than a specific amount, and with a minimal team.

Examples: For each business idea, real-world examples or case studies will be provided to illustrate the concept’s viability and profitability.

Constraints: All suggestions will adhere to the limits set by your startup budget, staffing needs, and location-specific regulations or market conditions.

Audience: These recommendations are intended for aspiring entrepreneurs or established business owners seeking to diversify into the restaurant sector, within the prescribed parameters.

Perspectives: The business ideas will be approached from a multi-faceted viewpoint, considering not only profitability but also customer demand and community impact.

Counterarguments: Alongside each business idea, potential challenges and drawbacks will be outlined, with suggestions for mitigation strategies.

ChatGPT-3.5 Output:

Entrepreneurial Business Idea 1

Entrepreneurial Business Idea 2

Entrepreneurial Business Idea 3

Entrepreneurial Business Idea 4

Entrepreneurial Business Idea 5

Claude Output:

Bard Output:

There you have it. A significantly improved prompt, with a significantly improved output. Is it perfect? No. But there’s a lot more context for the LLMs to work with.

Jack Your Own Prompts

Now, if you’re looking to get the most out of your ChatGPT experience, you can’t just throw a couple of vague words into the abyss and expect Shakespearean sonnets to tumble out. 

Much like your next “revolutionary” business idea, which—let’s face it—won’t be sketched on a cocktail napkin and somehow attract millions in venture capital, the more information and detail you provide in your prompts, the better the output. 

It’s the difference between asking a chef to “make food” and giving them a specific recipe to follow. So, be detailed, be specific, and maybe—just maybe—your digital buddy here will surprise you with how insightful it can be. Cheers!

Want to improve your own prompts? If you’re not on the AIPRM Elite Plan (with Prompt Cloning) and Promptjacking, do the next best thing:

• Use the tips above.
• Follow our Prompt Author Guidelines.
• Watch our first episode of FridAI: How to Write Effective ChatGPT Prompts. 
• Keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming Prompt Grader.
• And Install AIPRM for Free