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Tips & tricks for prompting

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Written by Alexander
Updated over a week ago

Introduction

Welcome to your guide on AI Prompt Tasks in Sana Agents. This article gives you a strong foundation for designing and using prompt tasks, helping you guide AI-generated text with clarity and purpose. By shaping the context, tone, and content, prompt tasks empower you to get the results you want, every time.

With this article, you’ll be able to:

  • Avoid common challenges when creating prompt tasks.

  • Design and use AI Prompt Tasks effectively for your unique needs.


Key information

AI Prompt Tasks are instructions you give to the AI model to shape its responses. They help you control the output, including tone, style, and content, so you get high-quality, relevant results.

Components of AI prompt tasks

  • Prompt text:
    The main input for the AI model. It sets the context and provides clear, specific instructions for generating your desired response.

  • User instructions:
    Extra guidelines or constraints for the AI, such as formatting requirements, tone, or style. These help tailor the output to your needs.

  • Examples:
    Including sample outputs in your prompt helps the AI understand what you expect. Examples guide the model to produce more accurate and consistent results.

  • Variables:
    Placeholders in the prompt text that get replaced with specific values at runtime. Variables make prompt tasks flexible and personalized.

  • Contextual information:
    Adding background details, previous interactions, or other relevant context helps the AI generate more accurate and useful responses.

  • Constraints:
    Limitations or rules for the AI’s output, such as ethical, legal, or policy requirements. Constraints keep responses aligned with your guidelines.

Tip: Adding information to your profile gives the AI more context about you. Go to Settings > Profile settings to update your details.


How-to / guidance

Designing effective AI prompt tasks is all about structure and clarity. Here’s how to get started:

  • Break information into clear sections, each focused on a single topic.

  • Use headings and subheadings for logical flow and easy reading.

  • Present information with bullet points or numbered lists for clarity.

  • Keep your prompt concise and well formatted, this improves the AI’s response quality.


Example use cases

Prompt tasks unlock a range of possibilities in Sana Agents. Here are some real-world examples:

USE CASE: Personalized messaging for outreach

Prompt task:

I want to craft a personalized message to a prospect. Please provide me with four examples according to the following:
1) Two options for LinkedIn connection request of max 300 characters
2) One LinkedIn message of max 90 words
3) One email of around 100 words
4) One email of 120 words with an alternative intro.

Use what you know about Sana's Learning Platform to craft a tailored message to this person. The main goal is to make the message feel highly targeted to the recipient and to make them want to explore Sana's Learning Platform. Below, you'll find the info on the recipient, their company, and guidelines you should follow. The goal of this message is to get them interested enough in Sana to want to book a meeting, while still keeping the message short, to-the-point, and humble.

Info to use on recipient and their company:
1. Info on recipient: {{PASTE LINKEDIN}}
2. Info on company: {{PASTE COMPANY LINKEDIN}}

Guidelines:
1. If you mention one of Sana's partners, only do so with the ones listed publicly on our website: Novartis, Swile, Alan, Electrolux, Foodora, Albert, Hinge Health, Amgen.
2. Do not invite to any events.
3. It is important that the first sentence triggers interest. This means do not mention something obvious like their role. Instead, please either:
a) Ask a question that might be relevant given what they're working on
b) Pick up on something worth mentioning like a recent promotion, a LinkedIn post that clearly ties to why I'm reaching out, or similar.
4. Never write something even remotely similar to "I'm impressed by" or "I noticed" or "I hope this message finds you well", "I'm truly inspired by.", "your work caught my eye".
5. For the intro, find a specific example of the recipient's work or their company's achievements. Use online sources to find this info.
6. Hone in on a pain point they might face and hint at how Sana could solve it.
7. The message should sound like it's coming from c-suite. This means that it should be quite laid back while still keeping it professional. It should come across as likeable and humble.
8. Don't come across as overly excited.
9. Please finish the messages with a soft call to action. Think of things along the lines of "Let me know if this sounds interesting."

USE CASE: BANCT -> Salesforce

Prompt task:

Based on the content of the meeting titled [[SELECT MEETING]], please update the BANCT fields for the corresponding Salesforce opportunity via the "update opportunity BANCT" action.

Context: BANCT is a significant part of the sales process because it helps sales reps qualify leads during the discovery call. Rather than waiting days or weeks to qualify leads using a score derived from the prospect's behavior and engagement with marketing and sales materials, the sales team can get detailed information from the prospect about their budget, stakeholders, need, and timeframe.

Please keep these specific instructions in mind:
1. If you don't know the exact opportunity name, assume that the opportunity is named after the prospect company.
2. All BANCT information must be written in or translated to English to be compatible with our Salesforce practices.
3. Write at most two sentences per field, and stay within the 250 character limit.
4. Always include why you believe each of your statements to be true.

Lastly, here are specific details on each field for your reference:
- **Budget**: A concise summary of the prospect's budget, number of employees or licenses needed, and any additional pricing considerations.
- **Authority**: The name(s) of the decision maker(s), who has the authority to make the purchasing decision.
- **Need**: A concise summary of the challenges/pain points/needs of the prospect.
- **Competitors**: A concise summary of the competitors (other vendors) that the prospect is evaluating, and why they are evaluating these competitors to Sana.
- **Timeline**: The expected date for when the contract can be signed and/or when the prospect is looking to make the purchase and go-live. (If the information for a particular field is not available from the meeting, please write TBC)

USE CASE: Cleaned meeting notes

Prompt task:

Based on the [[meeting]] (and with help from my notes pasted below), please provide me with short but informative bullet points on:
1) The company and their current set-up for learning (including current technologies used)
2) Current pain points with learning and why they're looking for a platform
3) Vision for learning and why they were interested in Sana
4) Timeline and process
5) Next steps and what to show in demo

{{PASTE NOTES}}


FAQ

Q: Why should I use variables in prompt tasks?
A: Variables make your prompts flexible and personalized, allowing you to reuse tasks for different users or contexts.

Q: How do examples improve AI responses?
A: Examples show the AI exactly what you expect, leading to more accurate and consistent outputs.

Q: Can I add constraints to ensure compliance?
A: Yes. Adding clear constraints helps the AI generate responses that meet your ethical, legal, or policy requirements.


For further questions or information about Sana Agents, please contact [email protected] via email or directly in the helpcenter chat.

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