28 ChatGPT Prompt Tips for Better AI Responses
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- ChatGPT prompting can be elevated through 'prompt engineering' techniques, with the article presenting 28 tips—several of which require a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription, the article notes.
- To counter ChatGPT's tendency toward 'obsequious and sycophantic' responses, the article recommends telling it to 'act like a curious, inquisitive 10-year-old' to expose weak points in ideas like vacation plans or side hustles.
- ChatGPT's mobile app camera integrates into prompts via the '+' button, letting users snap photos of landmarks, insects, or foreign-language signs and ask follow-up questions about them.
- Invoking the Pareto (80-20) principle with a prompt like 'the 80-20 on...' a topic returns the key 20% of information covering 80% of the subject, per the article.
- ChatGPT can remix uploaded images—turning doodles into photorealistic art, applying claymation styles, or compositing pets into tropical backgrounds—with follow-up prompts for further edits.
- ChatGPT personalization settings (accessed via the avatar and menu) store details like nickname, job, movie tastes, and DIY experience, tailoring responses across new conversations.
- ChatGPT plug-ins for Apple Music and Spotify let users generate customized playlists and port them directly to those streaming services, the article reports.
Why it matters: ChatGPT's default outputs skew generic and sycophantic, but the article shows that small prompt changes—like invoking a 10-year-old's curiosity, the 80-20 rule, or claiming to be 'a very lazy person'—can yield dramatically more useful answers. For paying ChatGPT Plus subscribers specifically, several of the most powerful tips (image remix, streaming plug-ins) require the paid tier, making prompt engineering a practical skill divide between free and premium users.
Ask SkimNews
