• You save time because the prompt is saved
• You increase quality through clear structure
• You create standards that you can share with your team

Use this outline:

• Role Who should perform the task? Example: You are an experienced communications consultant in the SME sector.
• Task What should be done? Example: Write a welcome email for new employees.
• Specifications How should it be done? (Tone, format, structure, etc.) Example: Tone: personal and motivating. Format: short paragraphs. No jargon.
• Context Why is this important? Example: The new employees should feel welcome, but not overwhelmed.
• Example (optional) What does a good result look like? Example: Here is an email text that has worked well in the past.
• Notes What should be avoided or given special attention? Example: Avoid bureaucratic language, keep it friendly and clear.

To ensure the assistant instruction is clearly structured, the Markdown format is recommended:

• Headings start with #
• Lists or bullet points structure the content clearly
• This helps the AI quickly recognize what belongs where

1. One Assistant = One Task

It is important that you assign your assistants clearly defined and specific tasks. If you give too many complex instructions or tasks at once, this can affect the quality of the output and increase the error rate.

Remember: A clear task description allows the AI to work in a focused manner and deliver better results. It is better to create several specialized assistants than one overloaded one.

2. Give Precise Instructions

Clear and precise instructions lead to more accurate and relevant outputs. Unclear or ambiguous instructions increase the likelihood of errors in the generated content.

Well-defined tasks help the AI to better understand the context and achieve more efficient results. If you are unsure, use our examples in this module and adapt them for your own purposes.

3. Know How to Solve Tasks Yourself

To give effective instructions to AI assistants, it is crucial that you could also perform the task yourself. Although AI often has a good basic knowledge in its own data, it is rather superficial and not yet tailored to the needs of specific niches.

Examples:

• For an assistant that is supposed to create conversion texts, you should know yourself how good conversion texts are structured.
• For a strategic consultant as an assistant, you should know the strategy yourself and be able to judge whether the results meet your standards.

Ideally, you even have 1-2 very good examples that you can add to the instructions.

4. Test & Improve Iteratively

If the output of your assistants does not meet expectations, you should adjust and refine the instructions until the desired result is achieved.

By testing different phrasings and approaches, you can find out which instructions deliver the best results. Be patient: No prompt is perfect the first time—even experienced prompters continuously improve their instructions.

Have you created your own assistant instruction? Then combine your knowledge from Module 3.3 on selecting the right language model—and try it out right away:

• Open the xpandAI platform
• Log in (if you’re not already in)
• Select the appropriate language model in the Plus section
• Copy your assistant instruction into the chat
• Start your first request

This is how you turn your knowledge into a functioning tool—for you and your team.