09
Lesson 9 · 1 min
Ask it to think step by step
For problems with several steps, asking AI to work through them out loud gives more accurate answers.
If you ask a tricky question and want only the answer, the model must jump straight to it. For maths, planning or logic, that jump often fails.
Asking it to reason step by step is called chain-of-thought. The model writes out each step, and each step helps the next one. You can also check the steps yourself.
Many newer tools include reasoning models that do this thinking automatically, sometimes showing a "thinking" note. For those, you rarely need to ask. For quick everyday models, it still helps.
It is not needed for simple tasks like rewriting a paragraph. Use it for anything with numbers, conditions or several stages.
Do it now
Split a bill properly
- 1.Pick a real multi-step problem: splitting a group bill, comparing two phone plans, or planning a schedule.
- 2.Use the prompt below.
- 3.Read the steps and check one of them yourself.
Solve this step by step, showing each step on a new line, then give the final answer on its own line: [YOUR PROBLEM, e.g. 5 friends share a dinner of 1,850,000 VND, two did not drink, drinks were 350,000 VND. How much does each pay?]
Words from this lesson
- Chain of thought
- Asking an AI to work through a problem in steps before answering, which often makes its answers more accurate.
- Reasoning model
- A model that spends extra time working through a problem internally before replying, which helps with maths, logic and planning.
- Prompt
- The instruction or question you give an AI. Clearer prompts with context usually get much better answers.