What is few-shot prompting?
Few-shot prompting means you show the model a few finished examples of the task before you ask for a new one. The examples teach the shape. Zero-shot means you give no examples and only the instructions.
Also called: zero-shot, few-shot examples
In plain English
A new hire learns faster from three real appointment texts than from a speech about your brand. The model is similar. Paste two or three pairs: the situation, then the reply you actually sent. Then give today's situation and ask for the same kind of reply. Zero-shot is fine when the job is simple and the instructions are specific. Three examples teach a shape. They also teach your bad habits if you paste bad mail. Pick examples you would be proud to send again, with the private names removed. Show one tricky case, not only the easy ones. If the new draft copies an old customer's detail, you put too much of that customer in the sample.
How an owner would use it
Pull examples from messages you were proud of, with names removed. Keep them short. If the new draft copies an old customer's detail, the example was too specific and you should trim it.
Common mistakes
Examples that include a discount you no longer offer will bring that discount back. Examples full of private details teach the model to invent private details. Five messy examples are worse than two clean ones. Do not few-shot a legal or medical answer you are not qualified to send. And do not call it few-shot if you only wrote 'here is an example' and then pasted a paragraph from a blog.
A worked example
A pet groomer
Three real reminders, then today's dog
This is an illustration, not a customer result. The owner pastes three past reminders that mention the pet's name, the time, and the 'please walk them first' line, with the old names swapped for blanks. Today's prompt only has the new pet and the new time. The draft does not invent a price.
Related terms
Prompts and guides
Questions owners ask
What is few-shot prompting?
It is putting a handful of real input-and-output examples in the prompt so the next draft matches that pattern.
How do I use few-shot prompts without leaking customer details?
Replace names, phone numbers, and addresses with blanks before you save the example. Keep the structure, not the person.
What is zero-shot, and when is it enough?
Zero-shot means instructions and facts, with no sample answers. Use it when the format is obvious, such as a checklist with headings you already named. Add examples when the tone or the shape keeps coming out wrong.
Product guides are on AI apps for business.