What is Prompt?

Prompt: an AI term, explained in plain English.

In one line

The instruction or question you give an AI model. How you word it changes the answer you get.

AI Reviewed by Keshav Aggarwal · Updated 5 Nov 2026

In simple words

Imagine asking a friend to bring you “something to eat”. You might get anything. Ask for “two bananas and a glass of milk” and you get exactly that.

A prompt is what you ask the AI, and clear asks get better answers.

The technical side

A prompt is the input text (and sometimes images or files) sent to a model. Answers improve when the prompt states the task, gives context, shows an example of the wanted output and says what to avoid. In an API call, the prompt counts as input tokens and is billed.

Prompt engineering is the practice of writing and testing prompts so a model behaves reliably, especially inside apps and agents.

Prompt kya hai?

Prompt woh sawaal ya instruction hai jo tum AI ko dete ho. Jitna saaf likhoge, utna achha jawab milega.

Related terms

LLM (Large Language Model)AIAn AI model trained on huge amounts of text so it can read and write language, like the models behind ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

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