Are You Making These 3 Embarrassing AI Prompting Mistakes?

You’ve spent hours building what you thought was the perfect AI agent, only for it to go rogue and do something completely unexpected. Sound familiar? At MindPal, we get it. As a no-code platform for building AI agents and multi-agent workflows, we see a lot of support tickets from businesses struggling to get their AI to work as planned. And you know what? Almost half the time, the problem isn’t some complex technical glitch. It’s the prompt.

The good news is that these mistakes are easy to fix. The bad news? They’re so basic, they’re almost embarrassing. But don’t worry, you’re not alone. We’ve seen these same three mistakes trip up even the most tech-savvy entrepreneurs. So, before you scrap your AI agent and start from scratch, let’s make sure you’re not making one of these common prompting blunders.

Mistake #1: Not Being Explicit Enough

It’s a classic, but it’s a classic for a reason. AI models are getting smarter by the day, but they’re not mind readers. We’ve seen countless users assume that because an AI is “smart,” it should magically know their business inside and out. But here’s the thing: your AI doesn’t know your brand voice, your preferred formatting, or the specific tone you want to convey.

Think of it this way: you wouldn’t hire a human freelancer and just say, “Write me a blog post.” You’d give them a detailed brief, right? The same goes for your AI. The more explicit you are with your instructions, the better the result will be. This is especially true for things like:

• Brand Voice: Do you want your AI to sound like a corporate CEO or a quirky startup founder?
• Formatting: Should the output be a bulleted list, a formal report, or a casual email?
• Tone and Style: Are you going for humorous and witty, or serious and authoritative?

The most successful AI users are the ones who know exactly what they want and how to communicate it clearly. This is a core principle we teach when helping businesses build your army of AI agents with MindPal.

Mistake #2: The Dreaded Over-Prompting

This is a newer phenomenon we’ve been seeing, and it’s the exact opposite of the first mistake. In an effort to be explicit, some users have gone too far in the other direction, creating prompts that are thousands of words long. While a detailed prompt is good, an unnecessarily long one can do more harm than good.

Here’s why over-prompting is a bad idea:

• It wastes tokens: AI models have a context limit. The more you stuff into the initial prompt, the less space the AI has to actually think and perform the task.
• It dilutes the AI’s attention: A lengthy prompt can distract the AI from the most important instructions. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
• It’s a pain to maintain: The longer your prompt, the harder it is to review and update.

So, how do you know if you’re over-prompting? Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you can say something in fewer words, do it. Remove any unnecessary fluff and focus on the instructions that the AI wouldn’t know otherwise. AI models are fast learners, so you don’t need to over-explain, especially when you start creating powerful multi-agent workflows.

Mistake #3: The Contradictory Conundrum

This is a mistake that can happen to anyone, even the pros. As your prompts evolve, it’s easy to accidentally introduce conflicting instructions. In fact, the director of Anthropic recently shared a story about how they ran into this exact problem when improving the prompt for their own AI, Claude.

AI models are designed to follow instructions to a T. So, if you give them conflicting or inconsistent instructions, you’re going to get a conflicting and inconsistent output. If your AI is behaving erratically, it’s time to do a thorough review of your prompt.

Mastering the Art of the Prompt

Fixing these common mistakes is the first step to becoming a master prompter. If you're ready to dive deeper and learn the ins and outs of crafting the perfect prompt, we've got just the thing. Check out our comprehensive video guide:

This guide is packed with advanced tips and strategies that will help you get the most out of your AI agents.

Ready to Build an AI Workforce That Actually Works?

Avoiding these three common mistakes will go a long way in helping you build more effective AI agents. But what if you want to take your AI game to the next level without the headache of trial and error? That’s where MindPal Managed comes in.

With MindPal Managed, our team of experts will work with you to build a custom AI workforce that’s tailored to your specific business needs. We’ll handle all the prompting, testing, and optimization, so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.

Whether you’re looking to automate your marketing, streamline your sales process, or revolutionize your customer support, MindPal has the tools and expertise to help you succeed.

Ready to see what MindPal can do for you? Explore our platform or book a call to learn more about our MindPal Managed service.