Few-Shot Prompting Explained (With Examples)

Show, Don't Just Tell

Sometimes the fastest way to explain what you want is to show a few examples. Putting example inputs and outputs in your prompt is called few-shot prompting. With no examples it is zero-shot; with one it is one-shot.

For instance: "Turn feedback into a tag. 'App crashes on login' → bug. 'Please add dark mode' → feature request. 'Love the new design!' → ?"

Examples teach the model your style, labels, and format in a way that descriptions alone often cannot.