Getting Started with ChatGPT: A Beginner’s Guide to Prompt Engineering

Looking for practical prompt tactics? I recommend checking out this ChatGPT Prompt Engineering Tactics — Quick Reference Guide

ChatGPT is a user-friendly web application that can be accessed at https://chat.openai.com/ for easy use. To maximize your experience with ChatGPT, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

• ChatGPT has different versions, and newer versions may offer additional features and have different limitations. It’s worth noting that OpenAI is not the only company that has developed AI language models.
  For the purposes of this article, we will focus on ChatGPT 3.5.
• You can ask ChatGPT to help with simple tasks such as Summarise, Translate, Write, etc…

Prompt:
Translate the text below to Spanish
"hello"


Answer:
Hola

• Or get help from ChatGPT with complex tasks

Prompt:
Extract the name of places in the following text and display them in a HTML table.
"""Google Inc.,Mdc Partners Inc,Omnicom Group Inc.,Wunderman,Grey Group,Dentsu Aegis Networ"""


Answer:
<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Places</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Google Inc.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Mdc Partners Inc</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Omnicom Group Inc.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Wunderman</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Grey Group</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Dentsu Aegis Network</td>
  </tr>
</table>

• When interacting with ChatGPT, consider it as an assistant that relies on clear instructions and explanations from you to complete tasks. Providing detailed prompts yields better results.

Prompt:
As an ecommerce expert,  please provide advice on optimizing product listings for higher conversion rates on an ecommerce platform. 
Focus on  effective strategies such as writing compelling product descriptions, optimizing images, and improving user experience


Answer:
As an ecommerce expert, I can provide advice on optimizing product listings for higher conversion rates on an ecommerce platform. Here are some effective strategies to consider:

Compelling Product Descriptions:

Clearly highlight the unique features, benefits, and value proposition of each product.
Use persuasive language to engage and entice potential customers.
Incorporate relevant keywords for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.
Optimizing Images:

Use high-quality product images that accurately represent the item.
Showcase different angles, close-ups, and product variations if applicable.
Ensure images are properly sized, optimized for fast loading, and have appropriate alt tags for accessibility and SEO.
Improving User Experience:

Optimize your website's navigation and layout for easy browsing.
Provide a smooth and secure checkout process with multiple payment options.
Incorporate customer reviews and ratings to build trust and social proof.
Implement personalized recommendations based on user preferences and purchase history.

• There are limits to the length of prompts and the length of responses in ChatGPT 3.5:
  The prompt limit is approximately 600–1000 words
  The response limit is around 300–500 words.
  It’s important to note that ChatGPT doesn’t count words directly; instead, it uses a measurement called “tokens.”
  Tokens can be as short as a single character or as long as a word. However, as a beginner, you don’t need to worry too much about the specifics of tokens.
• Every time you initiate a new chat with ChatGPT using the ChatGPT app, it will be saved as a distinct chat thread. Think of each chat thread as an independent virtual assistant that has no knowledge of the other threads.
• While ChatGPT can recall previous conversations within the same thread, it doesn’t have a reliable long-term memory. It’s important to provide relevant context and reminders within the chat thread to ChatGPT if you start seeing inaccurate responses.
• ChatGPT may occasionally provide incorrect responses but you have the ability to correct it and ask for a better answer. Here’s an example to illustrate the process:

Prompt:
“What is the capital of France?”
Incorrect Answer:
“The capital of France is Berlin.”

Revised Prompt:
“Sorry, that’s incorrect. Let me rephrase the question: What is the correct capital of France?”
Better answer:
 “The correct capital of France is Paris.”

• Sometimes ChatGPT may misunderstand your prompt, but you have the option to reclarify your request and provide more details to ensure accurate results. Here’s an example to demonstrate the process:

Prompt:
“Can you recommend a good restaurant in New York City?” 
Incorrect Answer:
“I suggest visiting the Statue of Liberty.” 

Revised Prompt:
“Apologies for the confusion. Could you please recommend a highly-rated Italian restaurant in the Manhattan area of New York City?” 
Better Answer:
“Certainly! I recommend trying ‘La Trattoria’ in Manhattan. It’s known for its authentic Italian cuisine and excellent customer reviews

• When ChatGPT cannot find the answers you are looking for, it may occasionally make up the responses. Hence, it’s important to double-check the information from reliable sources when in doubt. Here’s an example to illustrate this:

Prompt:
“What is the population of Mars?” 
Answer:
“The population of Mars is approximately 10 million.” 

Follow up prompt:
“Can you provide a reliable source or reference for the estimated population of Mars?”
Answer:
“I apologize for the confusion, but as an AI language model, my responses are generated based on pre-existing data and not real-time information. Therefore, I don’t have access to the current estimated population of Mars”

• Be extra careful with what you are shared with ChatGPT . Do not share important/private data to ChatGPT. Prefer to OpenAI’s latest usage policies here https://openai.com/policies/api-data-usage-policies
  and the Content Opt Out Request request form here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1t2y-arKhcjlKc1I5ohl9Gb16t6Sq-iaybVFEbLFFjaI/viewform?ts=63cec7c0&edit_requested=true

Looking for practical prompt tactics? I recommend checking out this ChatGPT Prompt Engineering Cheatsheet — Quick Reference Guide