Lesson 174 · 2 min
Role-play with AI: setting up a good character
A role-play is only as good as the character brief, so tell the AI who it is, what it wants, what it knows and how hard to push.
Ask an AI to "be a difficult customer" and you usually get a polite customer who gives in after one message. Chat assistants are trained to be agreeable, so you have to give the character permission to resist.
A strong brief has four parts. Who they are: a parent, a supplier, a manager. What they want: a discount, a deadline, an apology. What they know or do not know. And how difficult they should be, for example "do not accept the first offer".
Add rules for the scene. Keep replies short so it feels like a real chat. Stay in character until you say a code word. Do not solve the problem for me.
Afterwards, ask the AI to step out and review: what worked, where you lost ground, what a stronger reply would have been. That debrief is where most of the learning happens.
Do it now
Write a four-part character
- 1. Pick a person you need to deal with at work or at home.
- 2. Fill in the four parts of the brief in the prompt below.
- 3. Play the scene, then ask for the debrief.
You are [WHO]. You want [GOAL]. You know [FACTS] and you do not know [UNKNOWN]. Be [DIFFICULTY, e.g. firm and a bit impatient], and do not give in unless I offer something reasonable. Keep each reply under 40 words. Stay in character until I type DEBRIEF, then tell me what I did well and what to improve.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →Branching scenarios for trainingWords from this lesson
- Role prompting
- Starting a prompt by telling the AI who to act as, such as an experienced editor, to shape tone and focus.
- Sycophancy
- An AI's tendency to agree with you or flatter your ideas instead of telling you where you are wrong.
- System prompt
- Background instructions set by the app maker, hidden from you, that tell the AI how to behave in every conversation.