A user's request to an AI application such as a chatbot to deliver an answer. The way the prompt is formulated determines the outcome that is generated. Even small changes in the prompt can make a huge difference in the results. See
AI prompt engineer and
generative AI.
System Prompts Are Different
Also used at inference and not training, a system prompt modifies the behavior of a model. For example, it might request avoiding certain types of content. However, system prompts are generally entered by the AI developer, although some models allow user system prompts to obtain results in a prescribed format; for example, "explain as simple as possible." In either case, system prompts are generally temporary modifications to the AI model and differ from the user requests that generate answers. See
system prompt leakage,
chain of thought prompting,
neural network and
AI model.