Think of your Kolena Agents as junior employees. They are eager and fast, but they require good instructions in order to do their work. The more detailed and direct your prompts, the better your results will be. This guide will walk you through what makes an effective prompt and how you can write them for your use case.

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1. Provide Clear and Specific Instructions

Tell the Agent exactly what to do, in what order, and to what depth.
Vague promptImproved prompt
Summarize this report.In 150 words or fewer, summarize the Key Risks section of the attached Q2 Cyber-Security Report. Highlight any new vulnerabilities and their potential business impact.
Get the closing date.Get the closing date of the transaction. Return the date in MM/DD/YYYY format. If multiple dates are found return the latest one. If no dates are found return “N/A”.
Tips
  • Break complex tasks into steps (“First…, next…, then…, finally…”).
  • Describe the required output (“bullet list,” “table,” “two-sentence summary”).
  • Mention any constraints (word limit, tone, region, currency, format, deadline).
Make sure your prompt is not too specific.Example: Suppose you want to extract an account balance from statements.If you expect all statements to have a section titled ‘Account Summary’, you can safely include “Extract the account balance appearing under section ‘Account Summary’” in your prompt.However, if the account balance will be present in different sections for each document, keep your prompt flexible. Use wording like “Review the document to find the account balance. Focus on areas of the document like … to find the value.”

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2. Format Your Prompt

Humans understand instructions best when they are organized and readable; your Agents are no different. Reflect on how you structure information in an email or a document and apply the same thinking to your prompts:
  • Use headings and paragraphs to separate major sections or different ideas
  • Use bumbered or bulleted lists for listing key points
  • Use bold text, uppercase, and italics to communicate emphasis and intent
  • Use quote blocks for specific reference text
This formatting can be achieved with something called Markdown. Markdown is special characters you can add to your prompt to denote headings, lists, boldness, and more. Here is a quick reference guide on adding this formatting:

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Markdown Cheat-Sheet

PurposeMarkdown SyntaxExample in Prompt
Heading# Heading / ## Subheading## Instructions
Bold**bold text**Highlight **important** terms
Italic_italic text__except under the following conditions_.
Bullet list- Item or * Item- Step one
Numbered list1. Item1. Do this
Quote> text> Always include context in your prompt

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3. Supply Business Context

AI doesn’t know your internal jargon, project history, or the audience you’re targeting. Provide this knowledge within your prompt by attaching reference files in your prompts. For example, it may help to add the following to the prompt:
  • Business objective - “The report will be presented to the Board to secure budget.”
  • Audience knowledge - “Assume the audience is the compliance team.”
  • Attach relevant data - “Use the revenue figures from the attached Excel; ignore years before 2023.”
  • Style preferences - “Our brand voice is friendly but authoritative; contractions are encouraged.”

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4. Provide Examples

Provide examples of your output in the prompt. For example
Identify the top 5 variances by dollar amount. Order the results starting with the largest variance. Return each as the following format: ## 1. <Variance Item 1> % Variance: … Breakdown:
  • Date, Description, Debit / Credit

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5. Be Explicit About the Required Output

Tell the Agent exactly what format and what level of detail you need.
  • Tables - “Produce a Markdown table with columns: Country, FY24 Revenue, YoY Growth.”
  • Lists vs prose - “5-point bullet list, no paragraphs.”
  • Multiple outputs - “Give me two things: (1) a 50-word summary, (2) three hashtags.”

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6. Constrain the Scope

Keep the Agent on guardrails by constraining what it should consider.
  • Time frame - “Focus on articles published after 1 Jan 2024.”
  • Source limits - “Cite only Gartner or McKinsey reports.”
  • Perspective - “Write from the customer’s point of view, not ours.”
  • Exclusions - “Exclude any mention of competitors.”

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7. Mind the Tone and Audience

Match the style to the reader. Add a single sentence such as “Use plain-English legal language suitable for a regulator.”
AudienceTone cue
C-suite“Brief, data-driven, no jargon.”
Customers“Warm, encouraging, benefit-oriented.”
Regulators“Formal, precise, reference relevant statutes.”

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8. Iterate and Refine

  1. Review the first draft - Does it miss anything?
  2. Add correction cues - “You overlooked the Asia-Pacific numbers—please include them.”
Remember: even minor tweaks (“shorten to 100 words,” “replace passive voice”) are faster than rewriting by hand.

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9. Common Pitfalls to Avoid

PitfallHow to avoid
Too many goals in one promptSplit into separate prompts
Relying on “obvious” contextSpell out acronyms and background
Contradicting instructionsDon’t request a table in your prompt but select “Text” for your output type

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Final Thoughts

Good prompts are an investment: a few extra minutes clarifying your needs can save hours of revision later. Treat your Agents as capable teammates—give them the who, what, why, and how, and they’ll handle the work.