Hold on to your hats, folks, because we need to talk about a little something that’s probably popped up on your feed recently. It’s a bit like when you finally master your smartphone’s settings, only to wake up the next morning and find it’s got a new operating system you’ve never seen before. One minute, you’re feeling like a tech wizard, and the next, you’re back to feeling like you just moved into a cave. That’s pretty much the vibe in the world of artificial intelligence right now. We all just figured out how to talk to these big, smart computers, and now there’s a new word making the rounds: Context.
Now, if you’ve been playing with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or even Google’s Gemini, you’ve likely become pretty good at what the cool kids call “prompt engineering.” It’s the art of writing a really good question or command to get the best answer. You know the drill. Instead of asking, “Tell me about the Roman Empire,” you ask, “As a fifth-grade history teacher, explain the decline of the Roman Empire using simple language and three clear examples.” That’s a good prompt. It’s specific. It’s helpful. It’s what we’ve all been doing, and it works. But here’s the thing: that’s just the beginning. Prompt engineering is a bit like playing a game of Madlibs. You have a sentence with a blank, and your job is to come up with the best word to fill it in. “The dog ran to the [BLANK].” It’s a simple, direct request. You’re filling in one specific piece of the puzzle. You’ve gotten great at this, and you should be proud. But there’s a whole lot more to this game, and that’s where we get to the idea of Context Engineering.
If prompting is giving the AI a single word for a single blank, then context is giving the AI the entire story that came before it. Think about it. If the Madlibs game only gave you “The dog ran to the [BLANK],” you might fill it in with “park,” “store,” or even “moon.” You don’t have enough information to know which answer is the best. Now, imagine the game gives you this instead: “My name is Bob. I am a librarian who loves books more than anything. On a cold Tuesday morning, I was sitting in my favorite chair, and I saw my loyal dog, who I named Page, run happily to the [BLANK].” Suddenly, that little blank becomes much easier to fill in. You now have clues. You know Bob is a librarian, so he loves books. His dog is named Page, which is a big hint. The dog is running “happily.” All of that information, everything that came before the blank, is the context. It’s the background story, the setting, the characters, and the rules. It’s the information the AI needs to truly understand your request and give you an answer that fits perfectly, an answer that’s likely “library” or “books” and not something silly.
This is the very essence of context engineering: you’re not just giving a command; you’re building a world for the AI to live in and work from. You’re giving it the necessary background, the tone, and the rules of the game so that its answer isn’t just good, it’s brilliant. It’s the difference between asking, “Write me a sales email,” and saying, “You are a seasoned marketing expert with 20 years of experience. Your target audience is small business owners who are tired of being overcharged for software. Write a persuasive email in a friendly and professional tone, keeping it under 150 words. Focus on the pain points of high prices and complicated tools.” See the difference? In the first example, you get a generic email. In the second, you get a masterpiece of targeted communication.
So, what can this “context” stuff actually do for you? Well, it’s about making the AI a true partner, not just a robot you shout commands at. It’s about elevating the conversation from a series of single questions to a much deeper, more useful interaction. When you give the AI a rich context, you’re essentially handing it a blueprint for success. First and foremost, context dramatically improves the accuracy of the AI’s responses. Imagine you need the AI to analyze a big pile of data. If you just ask, “What are the key takeaways?” you might get a lot of vague fluff. But if you provide the full spreadsheet, a description of what each column means, and even a note on what you’re looking for, the AI has everything it needs to give you an incredibly precise and accurate summary. It helps the AI avoid those frustrating moments where it just makes stuff up, what the tech folks call “hallucinations.” By giving it a set of facts to work with, you’re tying its little virtual hands to the reality you provide. It must stick to the script you’ve given it, which means fewer wild goose chases and more solid, reliable information.
Context also allows for truly tailored responses. Have you ever tried to get a specific tone from an AI and it just wasn’t quite right? Context solves that. You can literally say, “Act as a sarcastic pirate who is also a professional financial advisor.” It sounds ridiculous, but because you’ve given it a clear persona and a set of rules, the AI can stay in character. This is invaluable if you’re a content creator trying to maintain a consistent voice, a writer trying to develop a character’s dialogue, or a teacher trying to create engaging lessons in a specific style. You’re not just getting an answer; you’re getting an answer that fits a specific mold you’ve designed. It helps the AI become a master of disguise, shifting its persona and tone on your command. You become the director, and the AI is your star actor, ready to play any part you dream up.
Beyond tone, context is a game-changer for problem-solving. Instead of asking a series of prompts that can quickly get confusing, you can give the AI a complex problem and all the related information at once. For example, if you’re planning a trip, you can dump your budget, the dates, the number of people, everyone’s interests, and your list of potential destinations into the prompt. Then, you can ask a single, clear question: “Create an itinerary that works for everyone, staying within our budget.” By giving the AI all the variables upfront, you turn a series of confusing back-and-forths into a single, efficient request. It’s like handing a professional organizer a messy box of files and telling them to sort it out instead of just asking where the paperclips are. The AI can see the big picture and connect all the dots in a way that’s impossible with a simple one-off prompt.
So now you’re probably wondering, how do I actually do this? What are the simple rules for context prompting? The good news is that it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Think of it as four simple steps to becoming a director instead of just a conversationalist.
- Rule number one: Be a director, not just a speaker. You need to tell the AI what role it should play. Use clear, upfront instructions like, “You are an expert on ancient Egyptian history,” or “You are a friendly customer service agent.” This immediately sets the stage and gives the AI a persona to work within. You’re no longer just talking to a machine; you’re talking to a character, and that changes everything.
- Rule number two: Provide the blueprint. This is where you give it all the background information it needs. If you’re asking for an email, provide the details of your business, the product, and who the customer is. If you’re asking for help with a report, copy and paste the document itself. The more information you provide, the better the AI can do its job. It’s like giving a chef all the ingredients for a meal instead of just asking for a sandwich.
- Rule number three: Set the boundaries. This is a crucial step that many people miss. Tell the AI what it can and cannot do. Be explicit. “Do not mention our competitor’s name,” or “Keep the answer under 200 words.” This helps prevent the AI from giving you unnecessary information or going off on a tangent. You’re putting a fence around the sandbox so it knows exactly where to play.
- Rule number four: Give an example. If you’re looking for a very specific type of response, show the AI what you want with an example. “If I ask about our marketing strategy, respond in a bulleted list like this: 1. Main Goal: [BLANK], 2. Target Audience: [BLANK], 3. Key Channels: [BLANK].” An example is worth a thousand instructions because it gives the AI a visual target to aim for.
Now, here’s a question you might not have thought of: can an AI actually help you learn all of this? The answer is a resounding YES! In fact, it might be the best way to learn. You can use these very tools as your personal tutor. Just open a new chat and give it a context prompt of its own. You can say, “You are an expert tutor on prompt and context engineering for beginners. I am going to ask you questions, and your job is to explain things in simple terms and give me exercises to practice.” Or you could say, “I want to practice my context engineering skills. Give me a scenario and I will write a context prompt for it.” The AI can give you feedback, correct your mistakes, and offer tips. It’s like having a private coach who is available 24/7. It’s a beautifully meta concept: using the tool to learn how to use the tool better.
So, let’s bring it all together. Prompting is a vital skill, but it’s just one part of the equation. It’s the simple command, the single word for the blank in the Madlibs game. Context engineering is the entire story, the background, the rules, and the tone you provide before you even get to that blank. It’s the difference between getting a good answer and getting a truly exceptional, personalized, and accurate one. They aren’t enemies; they are a team. You use prompting within a context. When you master both, you stop being just a user and start becoming a true creator, a director of a digital world. The journey is just beginning, and with these new tools, you’re not just along for the ride; you’re in the driver’s seat.
Now, what about you? What are some of the most interesting or ridiculous things you’ve tried to get an AI to do? Share your thoughts and your own Madlibs-style prompts on social media and be sure to tag @iamcezarmoreno. Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, or join the newsletter at https://cezarmoreno.com for more insights and to stay ahead of the curve!
