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Turn a help article into a short chatbot answer with a handoff trigger

  • For Customer support teams
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

Write two lines: "Answer:" (the bot's reply in at most 35 words, two steps in one sentence each, no links) and "Hand off when:" (one condition from the article that a bot should not handle). Plain text, under 70 words total.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Bot answers the identity case. The AI tries to solve the locked-out case. Try: Say: "Hand off when the old email no longer works and they cannot sign in."
  • Too long. The AI pastes the article. Try: Say: "At most 35 words in the Answer."
  • Wrong layout. The AI writes one paragraph. Try: Name the two labels.
  • Getting markdown back. AI adds bold and headings by default, which show up as stray symbols where this is pasted. Try: Say "plain text, no bold, no headings, no asterisks".
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague "keep it short" lands well over the limit. Try: Cap each part instead of the total, for example "each line under 15 words".

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the two labels
  • Limits the answer
  • Says the bot can't verify identity
  • Asks for plain text
  • Sets a length limit

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