Artificial Intelligence (AI) has swept across the internet and people's minds in recent years. It can be a hard field to keep up with due to the rapid evolution of AI tools which leaves many tech users asking themselves "what does artificial intelligence do now?" AI is defined as "the capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior" (Merriam-Webster, 2026). Check out one of our previous blog posts What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? for a more comprehensive definition and explanation of AI.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) is one form of AI that many internet users are likely to be familiar with. Gen AI is a type of software that allows users to input prompts and receive image, video, or text based creations in response. A couple examples of common Gen AI tools are social media photograph/video filters, chat bots, and picture-to-video editors. One of the commonly known examples of Gen AI is the text based chat bot ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a text based Gen AI that turns user prompts into written responses. It can be used to brainstorm ideas, create grocery lists, summarize text, and more! To get the most out of using a Gen AI software like ChatGPT, a user needs to know how to craft a prompt.
A prompt is the text inserted into a Gen AI software that describes the result you would like to receive. Prompts are different than the questions you might input into a search engine. A question for a search engine is designed to cast a wide net to get a variety of results while a prompt for Gen AI is designed to be highly specific to get one single result. Like any other form of writing, prompt writing is a skill that can be developed over time. When crafting a prompt, it is important to keep in mind three questions. First, what are you hoping to receive? Second, who is the question for? Finally, why do you need the result? The answers to these three questions should shape into a well-rounded prompt that gives the Gen AI software enough information to accurately complete your prompt. To learn more about prompting, keep and eye on our Events page for the Reference Department's "How to Use ChatGPT" program!
References
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Artificial intelligence. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artificial%20intelligence
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