This submission is part of a column swap with the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) bimonthly member magazine, AALL Spectrum. Published six times a year, AALL Spectrum is designed to further professional development and education within the legal information industry. Slaw and the AALL Spectrum board have agreed to hand-select several columns each year as part of this exchange.
Tips for drafting effective AI prompts.
On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT’s release marked a pivotal shift in the information world. Despite early explorations by legal research companies like Casetext, generative AI (GenAI) was unfamiliar to most. Fast forward to 2024, and a significant number of major legal information and legal services companies have integrated GenAI into their products. Legal professionals, from librarians to attorneys, now need proficiency in using GenAI. Yet, many ask, “How do I use it?”
No need to be intimidated anymore! This article demystifies AI prompt drafting or “engineering,” guiding you on creating effective GenAI prompts. Planning before typing is crucial.
Pre-Planning: Know Your System and Its Limitations
Whether you are using one of the mainstream GenAI models, like ChatGPT or Claude, or a specialized GenAI product built into another system, like Lexis+ AI or Westlaw Precision AI, it is best to know your product. Questions you should ask include:
– What information is available to the GenAI model?
While a list of exact documents in the training is unlikely to be provided, you are often able to find out what types of information and/or subject areas have been entered into either the training data or an alternative way of accessing data, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). The legal research GenAI providers will often publish this as part of their advertising material.
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Mastering AI Prompts for Legal Professionals Practical Strategies and Tools
