What makes a prompt worth saving
Not every prompt belongs in your prompt library. Before saving a prompt, consider whether it has the following:- Proven reliability. Test the prompt on at least three to five different documents before committing it to the library. One good result might be luck. Consistent results are a pattern.
- Clear purpose. Each saved prompt should solve a specific, nameable problem. If you can’t write a one-line description of when to use it, it’s probably not specific enough.
- Flexible structure. The best library prompts work across variations. Build in variables for the parts that change (document type, party role, jurisdiction) while keeping the core structure constant.
Crafting good saved prompts
An effective saved prompt is clear, with the right amount of precision and context. For a full breakdown of the different pieces of a good prompt, and additional tips, read Anatomy of a Prompt.Clear task or goal
Specify a clear action you want the AI to take. Start with action verbs (identify, redline, extract, compare, draft) and be specific about scope. For example, instead of “financial terms,” you might say “payment terms only.” If there are certain items that you want the AI to focus on every time you provide this instruction, include these as well.| Task examples |
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| Identify any standard SaaS agreement provisions that are absent from this MSA, including data security, uptime SLAs, and termination for convenience. |
| Identify any standard SaaS agreement provisions that are absent from this MSA, including data security, uptime SLAs, and termination for convenience. |
Context
State the context you want to include. Include the background information—the documents, parties, laws, risk level, and more—that will help the AI understand the situation. Prompts should include these four basic pieces of context:- Party Position: Who are you in this deal?
- Document Type: What kind of agreement is this?
- Industry & Regulations: What special rules apply?
- Risk Tolerance and Priorities: what risks are acceptable and what matters most?
| Context example |
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| We’re a mid-size personal injury law firm (service provider) reviewing a co-counsel agreement from a national litigation finance company (client). Industry: Personal injury requires HIPAA-compliant data handling and clear fee-splitting disclosures under state bar rules Leverage: Moderate – we have a strong case record, but they fund the majority of our current docket Constraints: Can’t accept clauses that give the funder case-strategy approval rights, per our professional independence obligations Timeline: Need to respond before the client’s next funding committee meeting on Thursday |
Output
If the format of the output is important—for example, if you always want the information to be organized in a table, or you want it to identify no more than five points—specify this in the prompt.| Output examples |
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| Create a table with columns: Clause | Risk Level | Issue | Recommendation |
| Three bullets maximum, plain English, business impact only |
Prompt Format
When crafting your prompt, avoid a wall of text. Keep your prompt organized with headers or lists formatting. Using consistent, clear formatting in your prompt helps the AI identify distinct instructions and key requirements. The best formatting depends on the individual prompt. You may want to split the prompt instructions into context, task, and output, or you might list step-by-step sequential instructions. Learn more about prompt formatting.Best practices for saved prompts
To get the best use of your prompt library, your saved prompts should be organized and developed.Keep the prompt library organized
Whenever a prompt is saved to your prompt library, it is available for your entire team. Make it easy to understand what a saved prompt should be used for at a glance. Every entry should include a clear name, a description of what problem it solves, and notes on when to use it.. Without this context, even a great prompt becomes useless to someone who didn’t write it.- Prompt titles: use descriptive, actionable titles that make it clear to others how the prompt is intended to be used. You can organize your prompt titles systematically, depending on your team’s workflow, by contact type, by function, or by risk level.
- Internal notes: add context to help team members identify when saved prompts should be used
- Tags: add up to two relevant tags to help categorize the prompt
- Version: When you revise a prompt significantly, note the date and what changed. This makes it easier to roll back if a new version underperforms.
Build and develop
Invite team contributions. The prompts that emerge from real work—a tricky indemnification clause review that finally came out right, a compliance check that caught something important—are often the most valuable. Create a lightweight process for teammates to submit prompts worth sharing.Where to create and use prompts
Prompts can be created and saved from the LOIS for Word web app or from the Word add-in. Navigate to Prompts and then click + Add Prompt/+ New Prompt to add a new prompt. Learn more about saved prompts.