Prompt
A prompt is what you type or say to an AI tool to get a result: a question, an instruction, some text to work on, or all three. Clear prompts that give context, a goal and a format get much better answers.
In one line, for a 12-year-old
A prompt is the message you send the AI to tell it what you want.
An example
Instead of "write a poster", try: "Write a poster for a school bake sale on Friday at noon, gym entrance, all money to the food bank. Friendly, under 40 words."
Why it matters to people
Everything in a prompt may be stored by the service. Leave out names, health details, account numbers and anything you wouldn't put on a postcard.