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Order bank feed rules so specific matches beat general ones

  • For Accountants
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Advanced

About this exercise

You're setting up bank-feed categorization rules. Write a prompt for one JSON code block: an array of six objects with keys match, account and priority, one object per line. The first matching rule wins, so more specific rules must come before general ones; priority runs 1 to 6 in order. A rule whose account is unknown gets account null. Outside the code block write at most 15 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • General rules first. The AI keeps the order given, so AMAZON catches AWS. Try: Say: "First match wins; put specific rules before general ones."
  • Inventing an account for Stripe. The AI picks a payments account. Try: Add: "Unknown account = null."
  • Wrong JSON shape. The AI nests objects or adds fields. Try: Add: "Keys match, account, priority; one object per line."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each part short.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the keys
  • Explains first match wins
  • Handles unknown account
  • Limits to one block
  • Caps length

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