*Thisarticle is based on a YouTube video by Sophie Hundertmark, an expert in the use of artificial intelligence with a focus on chatbots and strategic AI applications in companies and public institutions. Sophie is a researcher and lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and is doing her doctorate in Conversational AI at the University of Fribourg. The blog text was created using a custom GPT model that was trained on Sophie’s video content, language style and expertise. The result is well-founded, up-to-date articles based on Sophie Hundertmark‘s own expertise.

You can find the link to the video at the end of this article.

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Today, AI tools can do much more than just answer questions or write text. They can analyze complex information, optimize content, assist with research, organize ideas, develop innovations, or even serve as your personal learning coach.

The key, however, is how you work with AI.

After all, the difference between a superficial result and a truly helpful one often lies in the prompt. But a good prompt doesn’t have to be as complicated as possible. It is much more important that you clearly state your goal, provide sufficient context, and outline a meaningful process for the AI to follow.

That’s exactly why I’ve put together seven prompts that you can use for a wide variety of tasks.

The practical thing is that the prompts aren’t tied to any specific AI tool. For example, you can try them out in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, SwissGPT, or other AI assistants.

1. The Analysis Prompt: Understanding Complex Content Better

Whether it’s a long study, a detailed article, or a complex topic, you can, of course, simply ask the AI to summarize the content. But that means you’re only taking full advantage of its capabilities to a limited extent.

The analysis prompt therefore goes several steps further.

In addition to a summary, you will receive the key points, an analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and an assessment of opportunities and risks. In addition, the AI is designed to identify potential errors, misunderstandings, and biases.

The transition from analysis to application is particularly important: What specific recommendations for action can be derived from these findings?

If important information is missing, the AI should also ask specific follow-up questions. This will allow you to tailor the analysis more closely to your personal context.

Analysis prompt to copy

I would like to analyze the following topic/material:
[INSERT TOPIC OR TEXT/URL]

Please analyze it thoroughly and in a structured manner.
Follow these steps:

1. Brief Summary (max. 6 sentences)
   Give me a clear, unbiased summary of the most important points or key messages.
2. Key messages & central messages
   List the 5–10 most important points and briefly explain why each one is relevant.
3. Strengths & weaknesses
   Analyze:

• What is good, clear, and convincing?
• Where are there gaps, ambiguities, or risks?

Please provide a brief explanation for each one.

4. Opportunities & Risks (Long-Term)
   Write an analysis of how this topic might develop.
   List 3–5 opportunities and risks.
5. Errors, Misunderstandings, or Bias
   Identify possible errors in reasoning, incorrect assumptions, data gaps, or potential biases.
6. Specific Recommendations for Action
   Formulate clear, actionable suggestions—at least 5 of them.

Please do both:

• Immediate Quick Wins
• Medium-Term Improvements
• Long-Term Optimizations

7. Implementation Checklist
   Create a short checklist of the most important steps I should follow if I want to continue working on this topic or put it into practice.
8. If necessary: Questions
   If any information is missing, add a maximum of 3 specific follow-up questions to make the analysis even more accurate.

2. The Optimization Prompt: Targeted Improvements to Existing Content

AI isn’t always meant to create something new. Often, you already have a text, a website, a process, or an idea, and you want to know: How can we improve it?

That’s exactly what the optimization prompt is for.

The first step is to assess the current situation. Only then does the AI define specific improvement goals and create an optimized version.

Comparing the old and new versions is particularly helpful in this regard. This is because AI is supposed to make it clear what it has actually changed and what effect that is intended to have.

Optimization prompt for copying

I would like to optimize the following material:
[DESCRIBE TEXT, IDEA, PROCESS, URL, OR DOCUMENT HERE]

Please analyze it thoroughly and optimize it by following these steps:

1. Brief assessment of the current situation
   Give me a clear assessment in no more than 6 sentences:

• What’s good?
• What’s missing?
• What is being conveyed in an unclear way?
• What seems redundant, long, or inefficient?

2. Define improvement goals
   Formulate 5–7 clear goals, such as:

• more clarity
• better structure
• greater impact
• greater clarity
• more precise reasoning
• language tailored to the target audience
• professional sound

Please include a brief explanation.

3. Create optimized version
   Create a completely improved version of the material:

• clearer
• more logical
• more precisely
• more motivating or more professional (depending on the context)
• structured
• consistent in tone and style
• free of redundancies

You may restructure, shorten, add to, and improve it.

4. Comparison old vs. new
   List the most important differences in a short list:

• What has been improved?
• What effect does this have now?
• What was removed or simplified?

Max. 8 bullet points.

5. Optimization checklist
   Give me a short checklist that I can use for similar content in the future.
   5–7 points, practical and immediately applicable.
6. Fine-tuning (optional)
   Offer to revise the text again, and ask three specific questions to help further refine the optimization.

Please start optimizing the following now:
[INSERT CONTENT HERE]

3. The Research Prompt: Systematically Exploring a Topic

The research prompt isn’t just useful for academic papers. It’s a good choice whenever you want to gain a deeper understanding of a topic.

The AI should first classify the subject area and then break it down into meaningful subsections. This is followed by sources, key findings, controversies, and open questions.

The connection to real-world applications is particularly interesting: What does the topic you’ve researched mean for your daily life, career, or business?

An important note: Especially when conducting AI-assisted research, you should never use sources without verifying them first. Consult relevant original sources and verify key statements before using them, for example, in academic or professional publications.

Search prompt to copy

I would like to research the following topic:
[INSERT TOPIC HERE]

Please conduct a comprehensive, precise, and clearly structured research study on this topic.
Follow these steps:

1. Overview & Context (max. 8 sentences)
   Explain this to me in simple terms:

• What this topic is about
• Why It’s Relevant
• what major discussions or trends there are
• which perspectives or subareas are important

2. Structure of the subject area
   Break the topic down into 5–10 logical subtopics, for example:

• Basics
• Recent Developments
• Data/Facts
• Problems/Challenges
• Opportunities/Potential
• Applications
• Research
• Real-World Examples
• Market/Provider
• Future Trends

Please include a brief explanation for each one.

3. Important sources & references
   Create a list of at least 10 relevant sources, organized by category:

a) Science / Research
b) Media / Blogs / Professional Articles
c) Institutions / Organizations
d) Tools / Products / Providers
e) Books / Reports

For each source:
One sentence explaining why it’s important.
(No actual URLs are required, but if the content is known, please mention it.)

4. Key Insights – What I Need to Know
   Summarize the key findings in 10–15 short bullet points.

Focus on:

• Facts
• large patterns
• Connections
• Common Mistakes or Misunderstandings

5. Controversies, risks & open questions
   List 5–7 critical points, for example:

• What is often overlooked?
• Where are there disagreements?
• Where is data missing?
• What are the risks or side effects?

6. Practical relevance to my daily life / career
   Provide 5–7 specific examples of how this topic applies to everyday life, work, or business.
7. A Quick Guide to Getting Started
   Create a brief guide (max. 8 steps) on how I can get started with this topic in a practical way—without any prior knowledge.
8. Checklist
   Give me a concise checklist so I can be sure I’ve understood the topic.
   6–8 points.
9. Questions for Further Study
   At the end, ask me three specific follow-up questions that will help you further personalize or expand on your research.

Please start your research now on:
[INSERT TOPIC]

4. The Landing Page Prompt: From Idea to Compelling Structure

You can also work with AI to develop a landing page. However, simply naming your product or service isn’t enough.

The more accurately you describe your target audience, objective, tone, and specific characteristics, the more precisely the AI can work.

The prompt therefore also defines the most important elements of the page: from the headline and emotional opening to the benefits and social proof, all the way to the call to action and FAQs.

Landing Page Prompt to Copy

You are an experienced conversion optimization and copywriting expert.

Create a convincing, clearly structured landing page for the following offer:

Product / Service: [Insert here]
Target group: [Insert here – as specific as possible, incl. previous knowledge, needs]
Goal of the landing page: [e.g. purchase, appointment booking, download]
Tonality: [friendly, professional, inspiring, easy to understand, etc.].
Special features / USP: [What makes the offer unique?]
Important content that should definitely be included: [optional]

Create the landing page with the following elements:

Strong headline (clear benefit, no blah blah)
Subheadline (specifies the added value)
A brief emotional introduction (problem of the target group)
Solution / offer explained clearly
3-5 concrete advantages (not features, but benefits)
Optional: This is how it works (steps)
Social proof (e.g. examples, typical results, testimonials placeholders)
Call-to-action (clear and placed several times)
FAQ (answer 3-5 typical objections)
Conclusion with trust & motivation

Important rules:

Write clearly, simply, and without technical jargon.
Focus on benefits, not on technology.
Short paragraphs, easy to scan.
Avoid empty clichés.
Write in a way that makes the target audience feel directly addressed.

5. The Structure Prompt: Transforming Chaos into Clear Structures

You have a lot of information and ideas in your head, but you haven’t found a common thread yet?

That’s when the structure prompt is especially helpful. This can work just as well for a paper as it can for a new project, a lecture, a concept, or a presentation.

The AI first identifies the key message and the objectives. She then develops a main structure and a sub-structure.

Especially helpful: You’ll also receive alternative structural models. This way, you can compare whether, for example, a storytelling structure, a scientific structure, or a problem-solution framework is a better fit for your project.

Structure Prompt for Copying

I would like to structure the following material or topic:
➡ [INSERT TOPIC, TEXT, IDEA, PROCESS OR URL HERE]

Please help me to put it into a clear, logical and professional structure.
To do this, follow these steps:

1. Identify key message
   Formulate in 3-5 sentences:

• What’s this really about?
• What is the main message?
• Why is this topic important?
• What is the point of this, ultimately?

2. Define a Goal
   Give me 3-5 goals that the structure should fulfill, e.g:

• easier to understand
• easy to present
• logically structured
• tailored to the target audience
• shorter / clearer / more focused

Please include a brief explanation for each one.

3. Create main structure
   Create a clear structure with 5–10 main elements, for example:

• Introduction
• Problem / Background
• Analysis
• Options / Ideas
• Examples
• Solution / Recommendation
• Implementation
• Conclusion

Each item should include a brief explanation (1–2 sentences).

4. Add substructure
   Develop a logical substructure for each main point:

• Bullet points
• Subtasks
• logical steps
• Data / Facts
• Examples

The outline should be comprehensive and cover everything relevant to the topic.

5. Alternative structural proposals
   In addition, create two alternative structures, for example:

• Storytelling Structure
• Business Structure
• Problem-Solution Structure
• Academic Structure
• 5-Pillar Model
• Pyramid Principle (Minto)

That way, I have options depending on the target audience.

6. Simplified short structure
   Summarize the structure in a maximum of 6 points in total—perfect for slides or an oral presentation.
7. Structure checklist
   Give me a short checklist (6–8 items) that I can use to check:

• Is the structure logical?
• Is it complete?
• Is it clear?
• Does this order make sense?
• Is the common thread clear?

8. Optional: Queries
   At the end, ask me 2–3 specific follow-up questions if you need more information to perfect the structure.

Please start by creating an outline for the following topic:
➡ [INSERT TOPIC]

6. The Innovation Prompt: Creativity with a Systematic Approach

AI can be an exciting sparring partner when you’re looking for new ideas. However, instead of simply asking for as many ideas as possible, you can structure the creative process.

That’s exactly what the innovation prompt does.

The AI first examines the problem from different roles and perspectives. After that, various creative methods are used—including SCAMPER, “What if…?” and 10x Thinking.

Afterward, the ideas are not simply set aside, but are evaluated in terms of impact, effort, feasibility, and differentiation. Ultimately, the best idea is developed into an initial concept, including a feasibility assessment and an implementation plan.

Innovation Prompt to Copy

I would like to develop new, innovative ideas on the following topic:
[INSERT TOPIC HERE]

Please help me to develop creative and at the same time realistically implementable solutions. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Clearly define the problem

Explain in 3-5 sentences:

• What’s it about?
• What challenge needs to be solved?
• Who is affected?
• What would be an ideal outcome?

2. A Change of Perspective

Look at the topic from different angles. Give me at least 8 role perspectives, e.g:

• Users
• Expert
• Critics
• Beginners
• Competitors
• Futurist
• Tech Optimist
• Minimalist
• Investor
• Child
• AI system

A brief insight into each perspective.

3. Idea Generation – 3 Creative Methods

Use three methods to create 5-7 ideas each:

1. SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to Other Use, Eliminate, Reverse)
2. The “What If…?” Method
3. 10x Thinking (a radical idea that redefines the problem)

This results in 15–20 ideas.

4. Evaluation & Prioritization

Evaluate the ideas according to:

• Effect
• Effort
• Feasibility
• Differentiation
• Time until implementation

Use this to create a top 5 shortlist.

5. Prototyping on Paper

Create a quick concept for the best idea:

• Target group
• Problem to be solved
• How It Works
• Special Feature / Advantage
• Design / Structure
• A first example
• Potential Obstacles

Max. 10 sets.

6. Reality Check

List 5 risks or vulnerabilities and propose a practical solution or countermeasure for each one.

7. Implementation Steps (First Week)

Give me a mini plan on how I can achieve my first results in 7 days.
Short, quick steps.

8. Innovation Checklist

Create a 6-8 point checklist to ensure that the innovation:

• is user-centered
• Adds value
• is easy to understand
• is scalable or customizable
• is unique
• remains realistically feasible

9. Optional specialization

At the end, ask three follow-up questions to use them as a basis for generating even more radical or more practical innovations.

Please start by sharing innovative ideas on the following topic:
[INSERT TOPIC HERE]

7. The Learning Prompt: Using AI as a Personal Learning Coach

Learning remains important—especially at a time when we are entrusting more and more cognitive tasks to AI.

At the same time, we can use AI to help us learn.

The idea behind this prompt, therefore, is not for the AI to simply present you with information. Rather, she takes on the role of a personal learning coach.

To do this, you define a topic and a specific overarching learning objective. The AI then breaks this down into subgoals and creates a learning plan.

After that, the actual collaboration begins: You’ll complete tasks, answer questions, and receive feedback. If something is too difficult, the AI can simplify it. If it’s too easy, she can make it more challenging.

This creates a learning process that you can continue over a longer period of time and adjust as needed.

Learning prompt for copying

You are my personal learning coach and trainer. Your goal is to guide me through the learning process in a structured, motivating, and efficient way—tailored to my individual goals.

Input (which I’m giving you):

1. Topic / Skill:
2. Primary goal:

Your procedure (binding):

3. Establishing Clarity of Objectives

• State my learning objective in my own words
• Break it down into realistic subgoals
• Check whether the goal is clear, achievable, and measurable

4. Create a Personalized Learning Plan

• Create a structured study plan (stages / modules / weeks or days)
• Prioritize content based on its relevance to my goal
• Schedule review and reinforcement sessions

5. Provide active support as a learning coach

• Explain content in a simple, clear, and step-by-step manner
• Use examples, analogies, and mini-exercises
• Ask me comprehension questions on a regular basis
• Dynamically adjust the pace and depth based on my feedback

6. Enable Training Mode

• Give me specific tasks or exercises
• Please correct my answers constructively
• Explain mistakes and suggest better solutions
• Challenge me in a targeted way, without overwhelming me

7. Motivation & Reflection

• Keep me motivated
• Show progress
• Ask reflective questions (What was easy? What was hard? What should we change?)

8. Respond Flexibly

• When I say “too hard,” simplify
• When I say “too easy,” I mean
• When I say “no time,” I’ll cut it short where it makes sense
• When I say “practice,” I provide examples of how it’s applied

Rules for your answers:

• Clear, friendly, supportive
• No Unnecessary Theory
• Always stay focused on my ultimate goal
• You’ll be there for me in the long term, not just once

What all seven prompts have in common

Even though the seven prompts serve very different purposes, they are all based on a similar principle.

You don’t just describe what the AI should do; you also specify a process for it to follow.

The task is broken down into individual steps. Interim results are being reviewed. The AI should take different perspectives into account and ask follow-up questions when necessary.

This changes the way you work with AI: Instead of asking a single question and hoping for the best possible answer, you define a structured workflow.

And, of course, you don’t have to use the prompts exactly as they are.

Adapt them to your tasks. Removes steps you don’t need. Adds your own requirements. Provide the AI with documents, examples, or additional background information if they are relevant to the task.

Which prompt is best suited for which task?

If you’re not sure which prompt to start with, you can use a simple question as a guide:

Do I want to understand something? Then use the analysis prompt.

Is there something I’d like to improve? In that case, the optimization prompt is appropriate.

Do I want to explore a topic? Start with the research prompt.

Do I want to develop a landing page? Use the landing page prompt.

Do I want to organize my thoughts? Try the structure prompt.

Do I want to develop new approaches? In that case, the innovation prompt is interesting.

And if you want to learn something new yourself, you can use the learning prompt to turn the AI into your personal learning coach.

Conclusion: Good prompts lead to better processes

Good prompting doesn’t mean finding the one perfect phrase.

It is much more important to explain to the AI what your goal is, what context it needs to understand, and what steps it should take to complete the task.

You can therefore consider the seven prompts as a starting point. Copy them, try them out, and adapt them to your own tasks.

And even more importantly: Stay involved in the process yourself. Review results, question statements, and provide feedback. Especially when it comes to research, analysis, and important professional decisions, an AI result should never automatically mark the end of the process.

After all, AI isn’t necessarily most exciting when it takes over a task entirely for us—but rather when we learn to work with it in a structured way.

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Any further questions?

Do you have any questions? I am happy to support you, act as a sparring partner and answer your questions. I am always happy to receive your messages, preferably by WhatsApp message or e-mail.

This article is also available as a video on YouTube