GPT-4.1 brings some ๐บ๐ฎ๐ท๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐:
โข Instruction Following: More literal and precise responses
โข Tool Use: Better integration with APIs and functions
โข Long-Context Handling: Can process much larger documents (up to 1 million tokens)
โข Multi-Step Workflows: More effective for agent-like tasks and business logic
These are my key prompting takeaways:
๐น ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ
The model follows instructions more literally than previous versions. A single clear sentence often fixes unintended behaviour.
๐น ๐๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ณ๐น๐ผ๐๐
GPT-4.1 is ideal for multi-step tasks. For agents, include reminders to:
โข Keep going until the task is solved
โข Use tools rather than guessing
โข Plan and reflect between steps
๐น ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ
Use OpenAIโs tool API directly - no need for workarounds. Clear tool names and concise descriptions improve results.
๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Want the model to โthink aloudโ? Ask it to break down tasks step-by-step. This improves accuracy and depth, especially for complex problems.
๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ-๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด
It can handle up to 1 million tokens, but performance depends on how you structure the input. Place instructions before the content and keep formatting clean and focused.
๐น ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Older prompts may not work the same. GPT-4.1 relies less on implied rulesโbe explicit about desired output, structure, and tone.
๐๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐บ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ: GPT-4.1 is highly steerable - but only if you guide it precisely. Build structured prompts, plan agent workflows, and iterate often. Smart prompting is now a skill - and a competitive advantage.
Opinions: my own, Source: GPT-4.1 guide
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg
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