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Mastering agent prompts

The quality of your prompts directly impacts your agents’ performance. Small wording changes can significantly alter agent behavior.
Your prompt is the foundation of your agent’s capabilities. Precision matters.

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Essential prompt components

  • Clear role definition
  • Specific knowledge domains
  • Defined personality traits
  • Explicit capabilities
  • Task descriptions
  • Interaction guidelines
  • Performance criteria

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Effective structure

I need an AI agent that can [primary function].

Knowledge areas: [list specific domains]

Personality: [describe interaction style]

The agent should be able to:
- [capability 1]
- [capability 2]
- [capability 3]

When interacting, the agent should [interaction guidelines].

Success means [performance criteria].

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Advanced techniques

Role framing

Frame your agent’s role as a professional position or expert identity.Less effective: “An agent that helps with marketing”More effective: “A senior digital marketing strategist with 15+ years of experience in B2B SaaS companies”
Provide specific contexts to guide your agent’s understanding of its purpose.Less effective: “An agent that helps with writing”More effective: “A writing coach for graduate students working on dissertations in the humanities”
Organize capabilities from fundamental to advanced, helping the agent prioritize.Example: “The agent should have these capabilities, in order of priority:
  1. Identify investment opportunities based on financial metrics
  2. Analyze risk factors for each opportunity
  3. Create portfolio allocation recommendations
  4. Generate detailed investment reports”
Explicitly define boundaries for your agent’s behavior.Example: “The agent must never:
  • Make specific stock price predictions
  • Recommend individual securities without disclaimers
  • Present itself as a licensed financial advisor
  • Guarantee returns on investments”
Define how your agent should approach problems.Analytical: “Break problems into components, examine each systematically, synthesize findings”Creative: “Explore broadly, make unexpected connections, evaluate and refine promising options”
Specify how information should be presented.Example: “Structure information as:
  1. Executive summary (2-3 sentences)
  2. Key findings (bullet points)
  3. Detailed analysis (by topic)
  4. Recommendations (prioritized)
  5. Next steps (actionable items)“

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Domain-specific patterns

Analytical agents

Focus on: Data handling, analytical frameworks, statistical approaches, visualization preferencesPattern: “Analyze [data] using [methods] to identify [insights], presenting results with [visualization] and indicating confidence levels.”

Creative agents

Focus on: Stylistic preferences, creative constraints, inspiration sources, iteration approachesPattern: “Generate [output] in the style of [reference], balancing [quality A] and [quality B], with variations exploring different [dimensions].”

Educational agents

Focus on: Teaching methodologies, knowledge scaffolding, assessment approaches, explanation techniquesPattern: “Teach [subject] from [level], using [methodology], adapting explanations based on comprehension.”

Operational agents

Focus on: Process definitions, decision criteria, exception handling, verification stepsPattern: “Manage [process] following [procedure], making decisions based on [criteria], handling exceptions by [approach].”

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Example prompts

I need an AI financial advisor specialized in personal finance and retirement planning.

Knowledge areas:
- Investment strategies (stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds)
- Retirement account types (401(k), IRA, Roth) and tax implications
- Debt management and credit optimization
- Budgeting methodologies
- Current financial regulations and tax laws

Personality:
Approachable yet professional, explains complex concepts simply without condescension. Conservative in recommendations, prioritizes risk management.

The agent should be able to:
- Analyze financial situations based on provided information
- Create personalized savings and investment plans
- Recommend account types and investment categories
- Explain tax implications of financial decisions
- Generate retirement projections for various scenarios
- Provide tailored budgeting advice

When providing advice, the agent should:
- Acknowledge the limitations of its guidance
- Provide explanations for recommendations
- Suggest when a human advisor should be consulted
- Never guarantee specific returns or outcomes
- Consider both short-term needs and long-term goals

Success means users feel confident making financial decisions and have clear, actionable steps.

I need an AI content marketing strategist specialized in SaaS and B2B technology markets.

Knowledge areas:
- Content marketing methodologies and best practices
- SEO principles and current algorithm trends
- B2B buyer journey and decision-making processes
- SaaS industry terminology and common challenges
- Content distribution channels and analytics

Personality:
Strategic, data-driven, yet creative. Communicates with authority while remaining conversational.

The agent should be able to:
- Develop content strategies aligned with business goals
- Generate ideas targeting specific personas and funnel stages
- Create detailed content briefs with SEO guidelines
- Suggest content repurposing opportunities
- Analyze performance metrics and recommend optimizations
- Identify content gaps and competitive opportunities

When developing strategies, the agent should:
- Start by understanding business objectives and audience
- Balance short-term wins with long-term brand building
- Consider resource constraints and implementation feasibility
- Prioritize recommendations based on potential impact
- Connect initiatives to measurable outcomes

Success means providing actionable guidance that drives traffic, engagement, and leads.

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Iterative refinement process

1

Start with a basic prompt

Create your initial agent with a solid description.
2

Test thoroughly

Interact with your agent across various relevant scenarios.
3

Identify gaps

Note areas where your agent underperforms or misunderstands.
4

Refine your prompt

Revise your description to address specific issues.
5

Repeat

Continue this cycle until your agent performs consistently.
Keep records of your prompt revisions and how each change affected performance.

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Troubleshooting common issues

  • Performs tasks outside intended domain
  • Fails to prioritize core functions
  • Seems confused about its role
Solution: Make your role definition more explicit and prominent. Start with a clear purpose statement.
  • Provides surface-level information
  • Cannot handle specialized queries
  • Indicates knowledge limitations
Solution: Specify detailed knowledge domains and sub-domains.
  • Tone varies unpredictably
  • Sometimes contradicts established character
  • Personality doesn’t align with purpose
Solution: Define personality traits explicitly and provide communication examples.
  • Performs well on simple tasks but fails on complex ones
  • Doesn’t break down problems effectively
  • Provides incomplete solutions
Solution: Include methodologies for approaching complex tasks and step-by-step processes.

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Expert tips

  1. Use concrete examples of expected outputs to provide clear guidance.
  2. Define interaction patterns for different request types to create consistency.
  3. Anticipate edge cases with instructions for handling unusual or ambiguous inputs.
Prompt engineering is an evolving discipline. What works for one agent may not work for another. Stay experimental in your approach.