Unlocking the Full Potential of ChatGPT: 5 Proven Techniques for Maximizing AI-generated Results

Alex Lew, CFA
3 min readMar 11, 2023

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As artificial intelligence continues to advance, more people are starting to incorporate it into their daily lives. One such application is the use of chatbots, which use AI to simulate human-like conversations with users. One popular chatbot is ChatGPT, which uses a natural language processing (NLP) model to generate responses to prompts provided by users.

While ChatGPT is a powerful tool, users may not be getting the most out of it due to a lack of understanding of its capabilities and limitations. This report aims to provide a guide on how to better utilize ChatGPT by highlighting five key techniques.

Prompt Size

The first technique to consider is the prompt size. When using ChatGPT, it’s important to consider the size of the prompt being used. The prompt is the text that a user inputs to generate a response from the AI. It’s crucial to avoid either providing too little or too much information in the prompt.

ChatGPT has a limit on the size of the prompt it can process, which is 4,097 tokens. If a user’s prompt exceeds this limit, the AI may not be able to generate a response, or the response generated may be incomplete or irrelevant. To avoid this, it’s recommended to keep the prompt size within the limit of the AI model being used.

Instructions

The second technique to consider is the use of instructions in the prompt. Instructions can guide the AI in generating more accurate and relevant responses. There are various types of instructions that can be used in the prompt, such as “tldr” for providing a short summary or “personal identifiable information” for sales or email marketing purposes.

Including instructions in the prompt can also help avoid ambiguity or confusion in the generated responses. For example, if a user is asking for a recipe, including instructions such as “gluten-free” or “dairy-free” can help the AI generate a recipe that fits the user’s dietary restrictions.

Role Assignments

The third technique to consider is the use of role assignments in the prompt. Role assignments involve assigning a role to the AI, such as a doctor or a lawyer, and asking specific questions related to that role. This can help prime the AI for generating more relevant responses.

For example, if a user is asking for medical advice, starting the prompt with “You are a doctor. What is the best treatment for a cold?” can help the AI generate a more accurate response than if the prompt simply stated “What is the best treatment for a cold?”

Chain of Thought Prompting

The fourth technique to consider is the use of chain of thought prompting. This technique involves providing an example of a complex problem, explaining how it was solved, and then including a similar question for the AI to solve using the same reasoning. This technique has been shown to be three times more effective than a simple standard prompt for arithmetic, common sense, and symbolic reasoning tasks.

For example, if a user is asking for advice on how to fix a leaky faucet, a chain of thought prompt could involve providing an example of how a similar leaky faucet was fixed in the past, explaining the steps taken, and then asking the AI to provide advice on how to fix the user’s leaky faucet using the same reasoning.

Criticize Me Mode

The fifth technique to consider is the use of criticize me mode. This technique involves challenging the AI’s generated responses by asking it to criticize its own work and provide brutally honest feedback. This can help improve the accuracy and relevance of the AI-generated responses.

For example, if a user is asking for feedback on an email subject line, using criticize me mode could involve asking the AI to provide feedback on the subject line and then asking it to provide brutally honest feedback on why the subject line is bad and how it can be improved.

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Alex Lew, CFA
Alex Lew, CFA

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