Unlocking the full potential of Chat GPT for PR: Top Prompts for accurate and detailed responses

As AI chatbots continue to evolve, we’d be silly if we didn’t look to adapt and incorporate as this continues. Burying your head in the sand, after all, doesn’t tend to do you any favours.

So, consequently, we’ve been learning how to tap into chatbot potential to extract accurate and detailed responses.

But, whilst we’re adopting AI into our work to help complement what we do, it’s important to recognise that, despite the hype, AI isn’t there yet. The initial “Wow, WTF, this is incredible/terrifying” feeling has subsided, and, once you dig beneath the surface, we’re recognising more and more issues with it.

Where it does help though, is in pulling together rough drafts, and maybe brainstorming the initial seeds of broader ideas and initiatives – providing us with a solid starting point to speed up our output.

It’s also important to appreciate that chatbots are often biased in their responses, as well as liable to brazenly churn out falsehoods like the most accomplished blagger – or politician, if you like.

So always, always cross reference and research anything that comes out. We use the experts we have to hand (our clients or in our team) to make sure anything we take from a chatbot is correct and above board.

So, with that out the way, what chatbots are we using and how do we get the best out of them?

Well, Chat GPT, so far, is our favourite,  as it possesses incredible capabilities to provide seemingly intelligent responses, in pretty much most things you ask it.

However, the accuracy issues outlined above aside, sometimes the answers can be a little wayward, using extravagant language that most people wouldn’t use in a daily conversation, while also sounding quite repetitive. For instance,  it does like its list of threes!

But, before we get properly into it, here’s three reasons why ChatGPT didn’t write this blog.

I jest of course, I toiled long and hard over this blog post, with nary a chatbot near it.

When using AI for work purposes though, we’ve been learning how to achieve the perfect finished product by prompting it with the right questions to ensure we’re getting exactly what we want and how we want it.

So, we thought we’d share some of the best prompts we’ve found that help us in our daily PR tasks.

The CIDI approach
To gain precise answers, it’s important to provide clear context and define the scope of the question. By introducing relevant information and specifying the desired area of focus, Chat GPT can offer responses tailored to the specific context.

Author and AI entrepreneur, Gianluca Mauro, recommends using the CIDI framework which stands for Context, Instructions, Details and Input – and this has certainly helped us!

Ask open-ended questions
Open-ended questions encourage Chat GPT to delve deeper and provide detailed responses. By avoiding simple "yes" or "no" queries, we can prompt the bot to generate comprehensive answers. For example, instead of asking, "Is staff retention a significant issue in the care sector?" a more effective approach would be, "What are the main causes of poor staff retention in the care sector and what measures can providers and the government take to help resolve the issue?"

Seek elaboration and examples
By requesting additional information or specific instances, users can obtain more detailed and insightful answers. For instance, instead of asking, "What are the benefits of tipping in the hospitality industry?" a more effective prompt would be, "Can you elaborate on the benefits of tipping for an independent hotel chain, providing specific examples of how it positively impacts both the employee and the employer?"

Employ multi-turn conversations
Engaging Chat GPT in multi-turn conversations can lead to more accurate and detailed responses. By building on previous exchanges, the bot can replicate a natural conversation, allowing for a more refined and detailed exchange of information. The best prompt we’ve found for this is typing: “In a minute I am going to ask you to write a <quote for a press release about a hotel appointing a new general manager>, ask me as many questions as you need to complete this task to the best of your ability” – Chat GPT will then ask you a series of questions such as “What is the name of the hotel?”, “Who is the new general manager?”, “What qualities or experiences does the new general manager bring to the hotel?” and “Is there any specific message or tone you would like the quote to convey?”

Include relevant keywords and phrases
Incorporating keywords and phrases within prompts can enhance the accuracy and specificity of responses. As intelligent as the systems are, they’re not mind-readers so if you’re wanting a keyword or client name to appear in the copy provided, you have to tell it. 

For example, when seeking information about dementia, including keywords like "sundowning," "cognitive decline" and "pacing" can yield responses that specifically address those aspects.*

As outlined above though, AI is very much in the early stages (but it will only get better) so whilst we’re using it to an extent, we’re not relying on it too heavily. Having said that, we have employed it to our advantage for PR purposes. See her how we used AI in an image led campaign for one of our clients here.


*On a side note, if you are interested in dementia signs that might be more pronounced in the summer then one of our clients contributed to this Daily Express piece on the topic (although this one was written by an actual human journalist, and not AI – or so we’re told).