Why perfect prompts are perfectly useless

Hey there!

A couple of years ago, everyone said prompt engineering was the biggest skill you could learn. Fast forward to 2025 - that's both true and false.

It's true because you really do need to understand how to communicate with AI regardless of where you are in life or business - that's just a core skill now.

But it's false in the sense that when most people hear "prompt engineering," they think rigid frameworks and perfect formulas. And I think that actually holds a lot of people back.

Today I want to break down a couple of those myths.

First, the rigid prompt formulas everyone's obsessing over are becoming obsolete. AI models are getting so good at understanding natural language that elaborate frameworks with roles and step-by-step instructions often perform worse than just talking to the AI like a human being.

I've tested this repeatedly—complex prompts with perfect structure versus just explaining what I need in plain English. The conversational approach wins almost every time. Why? Because these models are literally built for natural language processing.

It's like working with a really smart colleague and the sooner you start collaborating instead of just giving instructions (smart colleagues rarely appreciate that), the sooner you start seeing incredible results.

Second, with ChatGPT's memory upgrade a couple of weeks ago, people who've been using AI consistently now have a massive advantage. Right now, I can prompt as basic as I want—just write a couple of words—and it gives me super detailed, personalized answers that are totally relevant to my business and goals because it knows so much about me.

We can debate whether there are downsides to this, but for now, people who've been building that relationship have just gained a huge head start.

Third, I'm still amazed by how underused voice prompting is. Both Claude and ChatGPT have this feature, and I think way more people should use it—whether you're a beginner or advanced. Voice just makes you comfortable communicating your thoughts naturally. You can ask questions, share your goals, braindump, and basically say anything that comes to mind about the topic. That’s rich context. Irt’s

It's honestly is such a game-changer, and I wish more people knew about it.

Trust me, I love a good elaborate one-page prompt as much as anyone. Finding those really cool, complex monster prompts that shift your perception of what's possible—that's a real journey and a great way of learning.

But I also want to give you permission: you don't have to wait until you have the perfect prompt. You don't have to feel like you can't get the results you want without having that magical prompt formula.

Five ways to start that conversation

Instead of crafting perfect prompts, try to experiment with conversation starters:

For business challenges: "I'm working through [specific issue]. Can you help me think about this by asking questions first, then we'll brainstorm solutions together?"

For content ideas: "I want to create content that sounds like me. Let me give you context about my audience and what I'm trying to achieve, then help me develop ideas that feel authentic."

For strategic planning: "I'm stuck on [challenge] and need a fresh perspective. Can you walk through this with me and suggest approaches I might not see?"

For turning ideas into income: "I have this idea for [describe your concept] and think it could become a digital product or income stream, but I have no clue how to approach it. Can you help me break this down and figure out the first steps?"

For business development: "I want to grow my business but I'm not sure what to focus on next. Can you ask me questions about my current situation and help me identify the highest-leverage opportunities?"

The magic happens in the back-and-forth conversation, not the first response you get. Give context. Provide feedback. Build on what AI suggests. That's how the real prompting muscle gets build.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: people who've been collaborating with AI for months are operating at a completely different level. They're not just more efficient—they're thinking differently, solving problems differently, building businesses differently.

The advantage isn't just unfair, it's a different league entirely.

But here's the thing—this doesn't mean game over if you haven’t started yet. It just means you don't have the luxury to wait anymore.

It comes down to starting your first conversation with AI and not stopping there. Keep going. Keep building that relationship. The longer you wait, the wider the gap becomes.

Check out my latest video where I show different approaches to prompting and how to get the best result.

Until next week,

Your AI Solopreneur Bestie,

Elena