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What is a prompt in AI?
A prompt is the text or instruction you give to an AI to tell it what you want.
- Category Building with AI
- Also called prompts
- Updated 20 Oct 2026
Prompt, explained simply
A prompt is what you type to an AI. It can be a question, a task or a long set of instructions.
It matters because the AI works from your words. A clear prompt usually gets a better answer than a vague one.
For example, "Write an email" is vague. "Write a friendly two-line email asking my landlord to fix the heater" works better.
You can add details like tone, length and who the reader is.
On ITG Now, our free tool guides include sample prompts you can copy and paste, so you get started faster.
Related terms
Prompt engineeringSystem promptLLMChatbotContext window
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Questions people ask about Prompt
What makes a good prompt?
Say what you want, who it is for and how it should look. Examples help too.
Prompt vs system prompt: what is the difference?
A prompt is what you type. A system prompt is background instruction set by the app or developer.
Do I need special words in a prompt?
No. Plain, clear sentences work well.