I cracked Google's prompt engineering playbook

I spent last weekend reading Google’s massive guide to prompt engineering…. so you don’t have to.

One thing stood out: a good prompt needs four different parts, not just one. According to Google, when using Gemini (or any AI tool), your prompts should include a persona, task, context, and format.
Let me break this down.

First, tell the AI who you are or who you’d like it to be. That’s the persona part.

For the task, describe exactly what you want the AI to do. The more specific you are here, the better the output.

For context, provide more information about your goals or what you’re trying to achieve.

Finally, detail what you want the ideal output to look like in the format section. You can even upload training data here.

I tested this framework across different AI tools - Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude. The results were fascinating.

Each tool broke down my test article differently. Gemini went with five sections, ChatGPT chose seven, and Claude created detailed bullet points for each section. But here’s what’s interesting: the framework worked consistently across all of them.

The Gemini guide shared another clever tip: Ask the AI what questions it has about your prompt.

When I tried this, Gemini wanted to know my target audience, brand story, product features, desired length, and overall tone. It was essentially asking for a detailed content brief.

Here’s something else I discovered: iterating prompts makes them significantly better.

I took a basic prompt and ran it through each AI tool, asking them to improve it. Each iteration added more detail and specificity. Claude went the furthest, adding information about brand voice and explaining all its changes.

The guide includes dozens of examples using this four-part framework. I tested one for developing a personal brand.

I customized it, describing myself as an Irish digital marketing agency owner helping B2B and SaaS companies with AI, lead generation, and copywriting.

While some suggestions were generic (blog posts, articles, videos), I found golden nuggets I hadn’t considered - like offering website copy reviews as a lead magnet to position myself as an expert.

The real magic happened when I asked the AI to turn these ideas into a 90-day action plan. I could export this directly to Google Sheets, giving me something concrete to work with instead of staring at a blank page.

Remember this framework next time you’re using AI:
- Start with a clear persona
- Detail your specific task
- Provide rich context
- Specify your desired format

And don’t be afraid to iterate. Sometimes the best prompts come from asking the AI to improve them.

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If you want to join my beta program PromptWritingStudio, I still have a few spots open. Reply with the word AI.

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