What’s a Prompt? (And Why AI’s Only as Good as the Question You Ask)

What’s a Prompt? (And Why AI’s Only as Good as the Question You Ask)

If you've tried using ChatGPT or any other AI tool, you've already used a prompt. A prompt is simply the question or instruction you give the AI to get a response.

🧠 Why Prompts Matter

AI doesn’t ‘think’ like a person. It responds based on how your question is phrased. The clearer and more specific your prompt, the better the output will be.

For example:
- Prompt: *'Write a letter about rent arrears.'* → Basic, generic letter.
- Prompt: *'Write a friendly but firm letter to a tenant explaining rent arrears and offering payment options, limited to one page.'* → Much more useful output.

🏘️ Prompts in a Housing Context

Here are some ways prompts can help in social housing tasks:

- Drafting policy summaries for board reports

- Creating template responses to tenant queries

- Asking AI to reword sensitive communications in plainer language

- Generating lists (e.g. '10 ways to improve void turnaround time')

✍️ Prompting Is a Skill

The good news? Prompting is something anyone can learn. It’s not about being technical—it’s about being clear and intentional. Think about what you want *and how you’d explain it to a colleague*. That’s your best prompt.

💡 Common Sense AI Takeaway

The quality of your AI results depends on how you ask. Prompts are the new 'briefs'—and the better your brief, the better your outcome. Experiment, refine, and treat AI like a helpful assistant who needs a bit of guidance.


Next up in the Common Sense AI series: “The Computer Said No – Understanding Bias in AI”

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