Want better AI results with Gemini, ChatGPT and others? Google’s new guide tells you how

Google has just released a new guide that helps people get the best results from their AI tool, Gemini. As AI gets smarter with every passing day, knowing how to ask the right questions is becoming more important. This is where "prompt engineering" comes in. Essentially, it’s about giving AI clear instructions, or prompts, so it can understand exactly what you’re asking and give you the best possible answer.

The guide, which is 68 pages long, helps users make the most of Google Gemini, a tool available through their Vertex AI platform. In simple terms, a prompt is a question or instruction you give to AI. The clearer and simpler you make it, the better the AI’s response will be. Google’s guide gives some easy tips on how to write better prompts.

For starters, it’s all about examples. Just like when you’re teaching someone something new, showing them examples helps them understand better. The same goes for AI—it needs examples to get the picture. Then, there’s the importance of keeping things short and sweet. If your instructions are long and complicated, the AI can get confused. So, short, clear prompts are always the way to go.
Another tip Google shares is to focus on what you want the AI to do, rather than what you don’t want it to do. It’s a lot clearer for the AI if you say “Do this” instead of “Don’t do that.”

The guide doesn’t stop there, it also talks about advanced techniques. For example, you can set a specific goal for the AI, like telling it “You are a teacher,” or provide extra context, like saying “The student struggles with math.” You can even ask the AI to break things down step-by-step, which can lead to more thoughtful and accurate answers.