AI Prompt Guides

How to get a good result from a prompt guide

Everything on this page is a starting point. The prompt packs above are sets of prompts for one job in one tool, such as meeting minutes in Microsoft Copilot or code review in Claude. The guides below are longer collections for everyday tasks like resumes, cover letters and email. None of them will do your work for you as written. They save you from a blank box and remind you what a useful instruction contains.

Choose by task first, then by tool

Start with the job, not the model. If you need minutes from a Teams call, the Copilot pack is the right place because Copilot can read the transcript in your work account. If you need to review a long contract or a code diff you can paste, Claude handles that well. For general writing, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini all do a reasonable job, so use the one you already pay for and spend the effort on the prompt instead.

Fill in the template with your own material

• Replace every bracketed placeholder. A prompt that still says [YOUR INDUSTRY] gets a generic answer.
• Paste the source: the job ad, the email thread, the notes, the data. The model cannot use what it cannot see.
• Say what the result should look like: length, format, who will read it.
• Tell it what to do when it is unsure, for example "mark anything you cannot confirm from my notes."

Worked example: a cover letter prompt

A typical first attempt reads: "Write a cover letter for a marketing job." The model knows nothing about you or the role, so it invents both. Here is the same request with the gaps filled:

Write a cover letter for the job ad below. Use only the experience in my notes.
Keep it under 250 words, in plain British English, with no opening cliche.
Mention the two requirements in the ad that my notes match best.
If the ad asks for something my notes do not cover, list it after the letter
instead of claiming it.

Job ad: [paste]
My notes: [paste 5 to 10 bullet points of real experience]

The result is shorter, specific to the role, and comes with a list of gaps you can address honestly in an interview. That last line is the most useful one: it stops the letter claiming skills you do not have.

Fix the prompt, not just the output

If the first answer is off, resist the urge to hit regenerate until something looks right. Work out what was missing, such as the audience, a length limit or a source, and add it to the prompt. When a version works, save it. Next time you start from your own tested prompt rather than the template.

Moving a prompt between tools

Most prompts on this site work in more than one chatbot, but a few habits differ. Claude handles long pasted documents well when they are wrapped in simple tags such as <notes> and </notes>. Gemini and Copilot can read files from your Google or Microsoft account, so you can name the file instead of pasting it. ChatGPT can keep standing instructions in its custom instructions or a project. If a prompt that worked in one tool gives a weaker answer in another, check whether the second tool can actually see the material the prompt refers to before you rewrite anything.

When a prompt is the wrong tool

A prompt can help you prepare questions for a lawyer, doctor or financial adviser. It cannot replace them. Models also get recent facts, prices and names wrong, so check anything time-sensitive against the original source before you use it.