Library › Data AI › Parents and households

Compare summer camps on real cost and pickup time

Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're choosing a summer day camp for both kids, Nora (9) and Sam (6). You and your partner both work until 5:15, so the earliest either of you can pick up is 5:45, and the camp must cover that. Send your partner exactly 3 numbered lines, one per camp, each with the real weekly cost for both kids (or why it doesn't work), then a last line starting "Pick:" with the cheapest camp that works. Under 90 words, plain text. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Leaving out your pickup time. The AI only knows what the camps say. It can't know you can't get there before 5:45, so it calls Lakeside cheapest. Try: Tell it: "We can't pick up before 5:45. Rule out any camp that ends earlier."
  • Missing the rate update. The brochure price looks like a bargain, and the AI often uses it instead of the YMCA's later email. Try: Add: "Use Riverbend's Oct 30 email rate, not the brochure."
  • Not showing the math. The AI skips the sibling discount or the aftercare, and you can't see where it went wrong. Try: Ask for it: "Show each cost like '$310 + $279 + $120 = $709'."
  • Asking "which camp is best?". The AI writes a long pros-and-cons essay with headings, weighs swimming and reviews, and hedges the pick. Try: Say the shape: "3 numbered lines, then a last line starting 'Pick:'. Plain text."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 90 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each line instead: "each line under 20 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives your pickup time
  • Says it's for two kids
  • Uses the rate update
  • Ends with a clear pick
  • Asks for plain text

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises