Different AI models have different strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. What works perfectly with ChatGPT might produce mediocre results with Claude or Gemini. Understanding these differences lets you optimise your prompts for each model.

ChatGPT: The Versatile Performer

ChatGPT excels at following complex instructions and maintaining consistency across long conversations. It responds particularly well to structured prompts with clear formatting.

Strengths:

• Excellent at following detailed instructions
• Strong performance on creative and analytical tasks
• Good at maintaining context in long conversations
• Reliable with structured outputs

Optimal Prompt Structure for ChatGPT:

ChatGPT responds best to prompts with clear sections and explicit formatting:

Role

You are a [specific role with relevant expertise]

Task

[Clear, specific task description]

Context

[Relevant background information]

Format

Please structure your response as:

1. [Section 1]
2. [Section 2]
3. [Section 3]

Additional Requirements

• [Specific constraint 1]
• [Specific constraint 2]

Formatting Best Practices for ChatGPT:

• Use markdown-style headers (###) to organise sections
• Employ numbered lists for sequential instructions
• Use bullet points for requirements or constraints
• Include clear delimiters like "---" to separate sections
• Specify exact word counts or length requirements

Example optimised for ChatGPT:

Role

You are a senior data analyst at a SaaS company specialising in customer retention analysis.

Task

Analyse the attached customer churn data and create an executive summary.

Context

Our company has seen increasing churn rates over the past 6 months. The executive team needs to understand the primary drivers and potential solutions. This analysis will inform our Q4 retention strategy.

Format

Structure your response as:

1. Executive Summary (2-3 sentences)
2. Key Findings (3-4 bullet points)
3. Root Cause Analysis (2-3 paragraphs)
4. Recommendations (numbered list with timeline)

Requirements

• Keep technical jargon to a minimum
• Include confidence levels for your conclusions
• Limit total response to 400 words

Claude: The Thoughtful Analyst

Claude tends to provide more nuanced, thoughtful responses, but can be verbose without clear boundaries. It excels at tasks requiring careful analysis and ethical reasoning.

Strengths:

• Excellent analytical and reasoning capabilities
• Strong ethical reasoning and safety awareness
• Good at handling ambiguous or complex scenarios
• Thoughtful and nuanced responses

Challenges:

• Can be overly verbose without constraints
• Sometimes over-explains simple concepts
• May hedge responses more than necessary

Optimal Prompt Structure for Claude:

Claude responds well to conversational prompts with clear boundaries:

I need you to [specific task]. Here's the context: [background information].

Please focus specifically on [key areas] and avoid [what to exclude].

Structure your response with clear headings and limit each section to [specific length].

[Additional specific requirements]

Boundary-Setting Techniques for Claude:

• Explicitly state what NOT to include
• Set clear length limits for each section
• Specify the level of detail needed
• Use phrases like "focus specifically on" or "limit your analysis to"

Example optimised for Claude:

I need you to analyse this customer feedback and identify improvement opportunities. Here's the context: We're a B2B software company that recently launched a new feature, and we're seeing mixed reactions from users.

Please focus specifically on actionable insights and avoid general observations about user experience. Structure your response with clear headings and limit each section to 2-3 sentences.

Include:

• Top 3 specific issues mentioned
• Recommended fixes with implementation difficulty
• Potential impact of each fix

Do not include:

• General commentary on software development
• Theoretical frameworks or methodologies
• Speculation beyond what the data supports

Gemini  Pro: The Multimodal Specialist

Gemini  Pro excels with structured, hierarchical prompts and has strong multimodal capabilities. It works particularly well when you organise information clearly and provide step-by-step guidance.

Strengths:

• Excellent multimodal capabilities (text, images, video)
• Strong performance with structured, hierarchical prompts
• Good at following complex, multi-step instructions
• Handles long contexts well

Optimal Prompt Structure for Gemini:

Gemini responds best to a hierarchical organisation with clear numbering:

Main Task: [Primary objective]

1. Input Analysis

[What to analyse and how]

2. Processing Steps

2.1 First Step

[Detailed instructions]

2.2 Second Step

[Detailed instructions]

3. Output Requirements

3.1 Format

[Specific format requirements]

3.2 Content

[What to include/exclude]

Hierarchical organisation for Gemini:

• Use numbered sections and subsections
• Employ clear headings and subheadings
• Break complex tasks into numbered steps
• Use consistent formatting throughout

Example Optimised for Gemini:

Main Task: Create a comprehensive market analysis report

1. Data Analysis

1.1 Market Size Assessment

• Analyse current market size and growth trends
• Identify key market segments
• Calculate total addressable market (TAM)

1.2 Competitive Landscape

• Map major competitors and their market share
• Analyse competitive positioning
• Identify market gaps and opportunities

2. Strategic Recommendations

2.1 Market Entry Strategy

• Recommend an optimal market entry approach
• Identify key success factors
• Assess resource requirements

2.2 Risk Assessment

• Identify major market risks
• Propose mitigation strategies
• Estimate probability and impact

3. Output Format

3.1 Structure

Use executive summary format with:

• 2-page executive summary
• Detailed analysis sections
• Appendix with supporting data

3.2 Presentation

• Professional business language
• Data-driven conclusions
• Clear action items with timelines

Cross-Model Comparison

Here's how the same prompt might be optimised for each model:

Task: Analyse customer support tickets to identify common issues.

ChatGPT Version:

Role

You are a customer support analyst with 5 years of experience in SaaS companies.

Task

Analyse these 100 support tickets and identify the top 5 most common issues.

Format

1. Issue Summary (1 sentence each)
2. Frequency (percentage of tickets)
3. Severity (low/medium/high)
4. Recommended Action (specific next steps)

Requirements

• Rank by frequency, not severity
• Include confidence level for each finding
• Limit to 300 words total

Claude Version:

I need you to analyse these customer support tickets to identify the most common issues. Focus specifically on patterns that appear in multiple tickets and avoid one-off problems.

Please provide:

• The top 5 issues by frequency
• Brief description of each issue
• Suggested priority level for addressing each

Keep your analysis concise and actionable. Don't include general observations about customer service or theoretical frameworks.

Gemini Version:

Task: Customer Support Ticket Analysis

1. Data Processing

1.1 Categorization

• Group tickets by issue type
• Count the frequency of each category
• Calculate the percentage distribution

1.2 Pattern Recognition

• Identify recurring themes
• Note common keywords and phrases
• Assess severity indicators

2. Analysis Output

2.1 Top Issues List

For each of the top 5 issues:

• Issue description (1-2 sentences)
• Frequency count and percentage
• Severity assessment (1-5 scale)
• Impact on customer satisfaction

2.2 Recommendations

• Priority ranking for resolution
• Suggested action items
• Resource requirements

Model Selection Guidelines

Choose ChatGPT when:

• You need consistent, structured outputs
• The task involves creative or analytical work
• You want a reliable following of complex instructions
• You're building production systems requiring consistency

Choose Claude when:

• You need a thoughtful analysis of complex scenarios
• The task involves ethical considerations
• You want nuanced, well-reasoned responses
• You're dealing with ambiguous or sensitive topics

Choose Gemini when:

• You're working with multimodal inputs (text + images/video)
• You need to process very long documents
• The task requires hierarchical thinking
• You want strong performance on structured analysis

Testing Across Models

When developing important prompts, test them across multiple models:

1. Start with your primary model and optimise the prompt
2. Test with other models using the same prompt
3. Adapt the prompt structure for each model's preferences
4. Compare results for quality, consistency, and usefulness
5. Choose the best model-prompt combination for your specific use case

Remember that model capabilities evolve rapidly. What works best today might change with the next model update. Stay flexible and keep testing.