Start with clear instructions

Start with clear instructions

The sequence information appears in the prompt matters. This is because GPT style models are built in a certain way that defines how they process the input. Our research suggests that telling the model the task you want it to do at the beginning of the prompt, before sharing additional contextual information or examples, can help produce higher-quality outputs.

Note

Although following this technique is still generally recommended, in contrast to previous model versions (GPT-3 and prior), our testing showed that the model response with ChatGPT and GPT-4 models was the same regardless of whether the technique is utilized. In this example, we see that adding the statement “Several sources … eruption” at the beginning or the end of the prompt didn't cause any change in the final model response.