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Tally birthday party RSVPs from a messy group chat
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your kid's birthday party RSVPs are scattered across a parent group chat. Write exactly 3 lines starting with "Yes (N):", "No (N):" and "No reply (N):", each followed by the kids' first names, plain text, no bullets, under 60 words. Use each family's latest answer, and count kids, not parents. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 15 words."
- Using first answers. Ben said yes and Finn said maybe before their updates, and the AI keeps the first reply. Try: Add: "Use each family's latest message."
- Counting extras. The AI counts Ella's brother or lists 'maybe' as its own group. Try: Add: "Count only invited kids. Every kid is Yes, No or No reply."
- No fixed shape. The AI writes a summary paragraph with a table and party notes. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 3 lines: Yes (N):, No (N):, No reply (N):. No bullets."
What a strong prompt includes
- Uses latest answers
- Shows the 3 labels
- Counts only invited kids
- Rules out bullets
- Sets a word limit
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