10 Clever Techniques to Get Unique Content from ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence system developed by Anthropic that is capable of generating human-like text. It can be a useful tool for creating original content. However, one common issue when using AI to generate text is that it can sometimes repeat itself or produce generic, boilerplate responses.

The key to getting ChatGPT to produce truly unique texts is to provide it with detailed, specific prompts. By guiding the AI with your prompt, you can steer it away from repetitive or templated responses. Here are some tips and techniques for prompting ChatGPT to generate high-quality, one-of-a-kind texts:

Ask Follow-Up Questions to Expand on Ideas

One effective strategy is to ask ChatGPT follow-up questions to get it to build upon its initial responses. Don’t just accept its first answer — prod the AI to explain further, provide examples, and introduce new concepts. This pushes it to generate more in-depth, varied content.

For instance, if you prompt ChatGPT to write about effective time management strategies, you could ask:

• Can you provide specific examples of these strategies in action?
• How do these strategies apply to different types of professionals and students?
• What are some common pitfalls to avoid when implementing time management strategies?

Asking targeted follow-ups forces ChatGPT to expand and refine its responses, rather than repeating generic phrases.

Provide Detailed Context and Parameters

The more context you can give ChatGPT about what you want it to write, the better equipped it will be to generate tailored, unique content.

Some elements to potentially specify in your prompts include:

• Intended audience — Who is this text for? Specifying an audience gives ChatGPT clues to adjust its tone, style and examples accordingly.
• Purpose — What is the goal of this text? Is it to inform, persuade, entertain? Defining a purpose focuses the AI.
• Length requirements — How long should the text be? Providing length parameters helps ChatGPT structure its response.
• Key ideas or points to cover — What main ideas or topics do you want included? Outlining key points steers the AI.
• Examples to include or avoid — Are there any examples or anecdotes you want incorporated or avoided? This additional guidance gets more tailored content.
• Formatting — Do you want headings, bullet points, or other specific formatting? Specifying a format prevents generic block text.

The more you can clarify the exact text you want generated, the better ChatGPT can craft a response that meets your needs, instead of replying vaguely.

Ask ChatGPT to Paraphrase Itself

If ChatGPT starts repeating phrases or information, you can prompt it to paraphrase itself by asking:

• Can you rephrase your last few sentences using completely different wording and structure?
• Can you summarize your main points using alternative expressions and examples?
• Can you re-explain that concept in a new way?

Nudging ChatGPT to paraphrase its own responses pushes it to find new ways to convey the same information, reducing repetitive patterns.

Provide Examples of Desired Tone and Style

You can steer ChatGPT’s writing style in a more original direction by providing upfront examples of the tone and linguistic style you want emulated.

For instance, if you want a conversational tone, you could provide a short sample text with that tone for ChatGPT to analyze. Or if you want rich descriptive language, you could provide an excerpt from a novel.

This primes ChatGPT’s neural network to recognize and mimic the key elements of the sample style in its own generated text.

Ask for a Creative or Unconventional Approach

Explicitly asking ChatGPT to be creative or unorthodox in its response can spur more original content. Some phrases to try:

• Can you summarize the key points in a creative, unconventional way?
• What’s the most unique way you could explain this concept?
• I want an imaginative approach for this — how can you present this topic creatively?

Telling ChatGPT directly you want novelty and imagination helps avoid defaulting to boilerplate text.

Introduce Constraints

Providing certain limiting parameters or constraints for ChatGPT can drive it to generate more creative and varied responses as it works within those bounds.

Some potential constraints include:

• Use no more than X number of sentences
• Do not use specific common words or phrases like “X, Y, Z”
• Focus on only these 3 sub-topics within the broader prompt
• Use metaphors and analogies to explain concepts

Constraints force ChatGPT to rethink and rework its responses to meet the requirements, boosting originality.

Use Uncommon Word Prompts

In your initial prompt, try incorporating interesting, uncommon words and phrases that ChatGPT will then be stimulated to build upon in its response.

For example, instead of saying “Can you explain the benefits of meditation?” try prompting with unique vocabulary like:

“Please elucidate the salutary effects and felicific advantages arising from the diurnal habit of meditation.”

The AI will perceive these unexpected words and attempt to match that linguistic complexity, driving more novel word choices in its answer.

Ask ChatGPT to Improve Its Own Responses

Rather than passively accepting ChatGPT’s initial response, you can directly ask it to critique its own content and improve it by:

• Identifying areas of repetition
• Making the language more vivid and engaging
• Adding creative metaphors and descriptive examples
• Strengthening logical flow and transitions

Prompting the AI to enhance its own work can yield texts with greater originality, polish, and coherence.

Provide Feedback on What to Change

Similarly, you can provide direct feedback to ChatGPT on how to modify its responses to make them more unique:

• Your last response relied too much on platitudes. Can you rephrase it without any cliché language?
• You repeated the same example multiple times. Can you come up with some new illustrative examples?
• The tone became too informal halfway through. Can you adjust the language to make it more consistent?

Giving this type of constructive criticism helps ChatGPT strengthen its writing skills and avoid repetitive tropes.

Request a Different Style, Format, or Structure

Asking ChatGPT to render its response in an alternative style can catalyze more creative, non-boilerplate text generation.

For instance, you could prompt:

• Can you write the last passage as a dialogue between two characters rather than a block of text?
• How would these points come across in a bulleted list versus paragraphs?
• Can you turn your last response into a metaphor or analogy?

Reframing the shape of the content pushes ChatGPT to approach it through a fresh narrative lens.

Change Perspective or Point of View

Prompting ChatGPT to adopt a different narrative perspective, tone of voice, or point of view can also spur novelty by forcing it outside its default patterns.

For example:

• How would you explain this concept from a child’s perspective, using simple language?
• Can you summarize your key points as if you were giving a passionate speech?
• What details would you highlight if you were critiquing this idea, rather than supporting it?

Looking at a topic through a new vantage point compels ChatGPT to reconstruct the content in an original way.

Ask for Multiple Options to Choose From

Rather than accepting ChatGPT’s first response, you can ask for multiple variations to select from:

• Can you generate 3 different outlines for this topic, each with a distinct structure?
• Provide me with 5 different intros that approach this article from different angles.
• Give me a few versions of this paragraph, each written in a different tone (humorous, formal, etc).

Having multiple options to pick from allows you to curate the most novel, non-repetitive phrasing and approach.

The key to coaxing truly original texts from ChatGPT is becoming an active, engaged prompter. Don’t settle for the AI’s first generic response — question, refine, and guide it towards novelty. Provide specificity and constraints, give constructive feedback, and request creative re-workings. With deliberate, thoughtful prompting, ChatGPT can produce content that is both high-quality and unexpected. Master these prompting techniques to tap into the AI’s potential for limitless unique text generation.