AI Prompting Guidelines
In the age of generative AI, professionals across industries are leveraging tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and others to boost productivity and creativity. A recent survey found 78% of organizations use AI in at least one business function, illustrating how widespread this trend has become. Below, we provide an industry-by-industry overview of how prompting can be applied, guidelines for effective prompts, and example prompts (with recommended AI tools, difficulty level, and expected outcomes).
Legal AI Prompting Guidelines
Industry Overview
The legal industry is cautiously embracing AI to assist with drafting documents, researching case law, and summarizing complex information. A Bloomberg Law survey found that 57% of lawyers had used generative AI for legal research, and 46% for drafting communications. While AI cannot replace expert legal judgment, well-crafted prompts can help legal professionals save time on first drafts of contracts, legal memos, or simplifying jargon for clients.
Prompting Guidelines
- Maintain Formal Tone: Prompt the AI to use formal, precise language appropriate for legal documents or communication.
- Provide Context: Include relevant details such as jurisdiction, case facts, or clause specifics to get more accurate outputs.
- Use Precedents & Clauses: If drafting contracts or briefs, ask for inclusion of standard clauses or refer to known precedents (fictitious or real) to guide the AI.
- Verification is Key: Treat AI output as a draft—always verify facts, citations, and compliance with current law or regulations.
- Confidentiality Caution: Avoid inputting sensitive personal data or confidential case details into a public AI tool, or use on-premise models for privacy.
Example Prompts
"Summarize the key points of this court opinion [insert excerpt] in plain English for a client, highlighting the decision and its implications."
"Draft a clause for a commercial lease agreement that covers early termination by the tenant, under [State] law, ensuring it's landlord-friendly."
"Convert the following bullet points into a formal legal letter responding to a customer complaint about product liability [include bullet points]."
"Provide a list of potential counterarguments in a negligence case where the plaintiff slipped on ice, given the facts: [summarize facts]."
"Outline a privacy policy for an e-commerce website that complies with GDPR and CCPA, covering data collection, usage, and user rights."