Lesson 498 of 1455
Role and Persona Prompting: Put the Role Before the Task
Asking AI to act as a coach, reviewer, teacher, or expert changes the answer. Put the role first, then the task, and add constraints so the voice matches the need.
Builders · Prompting · ~24 min read
The big idea
AI gives generic answers because it does not know what role to play. Tell it. 'Act as a fitness coach.' 'Act as a kind older sibling.' 'Act as my study buddy.' The answers change based on the role.
Some examples
- For homework help: 'Act as a patient tutor for a 9th grader. Explain step by step.'
- For tough feelings: 'Act as a kind, calm friend who listens before giving advice.'
- For project planning: 'Act as a project manager helping me break this into steps.'
- For practice: 'Act as my interviewer for a job at a coffee shop. Ask me questions.'
Try it!
Role first, task second
The order matters. 'You are a security engineer. Review this code for risks.' sets standards before the model starts answering. A different role, like friendly tutor or skeptical editor, should change vocabulary, focus, and what counts as a good answer.
End-of-lesson quiz
Check what stuck
8 questions · Score saves to your progress.
Lesson help
Questions are best handled with a grown-up here.
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