I’ve been experimenting with building a custom GPT for a very specific task (in my case, a kind of AI writing coach that helps structure messy ideas into clearer paragraphs).
At first, I was trying to control everything via the system prompt — from tone of voice to formatting and even how it responds to incomplete inputs. But I quickly ran into the limits: too many instructions, and the model either ignores half of them or gets confused.
So I started building a list of reusable prompt templates — quick, targeted patterns that my GPT could respond to more consistently. Some examples:
- “Can you rephrase this to sound more concise but still friendly?”
- “Make this paragraph more logical, but keep the original tone.”
- “Ask me 3 follow-up questions to clarify this idea.”
Surprisingly, these short prompts worked better than a super-detailed system message alone.
What I’m wondering is:
- Has anyone here built a kind of prompt ‘toolkit’ for a customized GPT?
- Do you rely more on the system message or on reusable user prompts?
- Any tips for managing that balance, especially when using GPTs for writing, teaching, or research support?
Would love to hear how others are handling this.
(And if anyone’s curious, I’m happy to share how I’ve set up my ChatGPT too.)