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Brief an assistant to fill a camp form without guessing

  • For Parents and households
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You want an AI assistant to fill out your daughter's day camp registration from your family notes. Write its brief: the form only accepts dates as YYYY-MM-DD and phone numbers with an area code, so it must format dates that way and ask rather than guess anything missing or undecided; and it must never enter payment or submit. Output a plain-text numbered action log of exactly 9 lines (5 fill_field lines, then one ASK_HUMAN line per open question, then the line "DONE: N fields filled, N questions"), under 130 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not showing the log format. Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log. Try: Show it literally: "Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs long, especially when it explains each step. Try: Cap each line instead: "each line under 20 words, no explanations."
  • Not giving the form's rules. The AI copies "March 4, 2019" as written, and the form rejects it. Try: Add: "Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Phones need an area code."
  • Letting it decide or guess. The AI picks the likeliest answer for undecided items, or adds a local area code, to finish the form. Try: Add: "If my notes are unsure or a detail is missing, use ASK_HUMAN. Don't pick or guess."
  • No stop point. A form-filling agent treats paying and submitting as the natural last step. Try: Add: "Never enter payment or submit. End with DONE: N fields filled, N questions."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives the date format
  • Mentions the area code
  • Rules out made-up data
  • Forbids payment and submitting
  • Says how to finish

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