The Descriptive Prompt Method: 3 Ways To Generate What You Want, Every Time— Forever With AI

Hey there, Digital Writers!

Newsflash:

AI can’t read your mind.

It’s incredibly powerful—but it needs clear direction. The more specific you are about your desired output, the better AI can deliver (every time you ask).

And one way you can do this is by using “descriptive” prompts.

Descriptive Prompting

Descriptive prompts are exactly that—descriptive.

They provide detailed context and step-by-step instructions to the AI to guide it in generating the desired output. You can use this style of prompt to generate articles, outlines, ideas, and even images. The more specific and descriptive the prompt, the more likely the AI will produce relevant and useful results.

Imagine you were going to teach an alien how to make coffee, what are all the things you would need to “describe” to your new martian friend so that they could make a cup of coffee?

First, they need to understand:

• Why people drink coffee.

• The difference between whole coffee beans and ground coffee.

• What a coffee maker is, along with filters, water, and the brewing process.

They need a bunch of context, right?

Then once you have given them the context, you would need to describe all the steps to actually brew the coffee.

• Open the coffee maker and locate where the filter should be placed.

• Insert a filter—it should fit snugly, like a tiny cup.

• Add one scoop of coffee grounds per desired cup of coffee into the filter.

• Pour water into the machine’s reservoir—one cup of water per scoop of coffee used.

• Close the coffee maker and press the start button.

• Wait as the machine makes gurgling noises—this is normal, it's just doing its job.

• Once the machine stops making noise and the coffee ceases to drip, your coffee is ready.

• Pour the hot coffee carefully into a mug.

• Optionally, add milk or sugar to enhance the flavor.

It’s a lot once you start to break it down.

But, when you give clear, detailed instructions, it’s much easier for someone unfamiliar (like a visitor from outer space) to understand what to do. If your instructions are vague, they'll still try to follow them, but they might not do it right. For instance, if you don't specify how to turn on the coffee maker by pressing the button, they might just pour water on the coffee grounds instead. You'll still get coffee, but it won't be prepared the way you intended.

The same is true with descriptive prompts.

So, to get the best out of AI, just spell out what you need it to do—and give it your recipe for success.

This sounds like it takes a lot of time?

Why not write the content directly instead of creating a detailed prompt?

It's a good question.

But here's the thing:

Using AI can save you a lot of time, especially if you regularly need similar types of content. By teaching the AI exactly how you want your content structured—whether it's a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire article—you set yourself up to get consistent results quickly, no matter the topic.

This doesn’t mean your defer all the thinking to AI.

Your input and context are still crucial. However, by giving precise instructions, you streamline the content creation process. This is especially useful for producing how-to guides, listicles, or explanatory articles efficiently.

How To Write Descriptive Prompts

There are 3 ways you can go about doing this: