Prompt of the Day: Stop Prompting GPT-5 Like It’s GPT-4

If your GPT-5 results have felt a little… underwhelming, you’re not imagining things. Stop Prompting GPT-5 Like It’s GPT-4

Pietro Schirano, CEO of Magic Path, recently dropped a comprehensive GPT-5 prompting guide that explains why — and how to fix it.

The short version? GPT-5 is way more sensitive to instruction style than earlier models, and most of us are still prompting like it’s GPT-4.

The Big Shift: Plan First, Execute Second

With GPT-4, you could toss in a quick “Write me a marketing plan” and get something decent. GPT-5? Not so much.

Pietro’s key insight: GPT-5 shines when you give it an explicit planning phase before the actual answer.

Instead of:

“Write me a marketing plan.”

Try:

“Before responding, decompose this request into core components, create a structured approach, then execute step-by-step.”

That single tweak forces GPT-5 to think before it talks — and the quality jump is massive.

Quick Wins from the Guide

If you don’t have time to read the full breakdown, here are Pietro’s top takeaways:

1. Be Explicit About Tone and Style Upfront

   Don’t just say “write a blog post” — tell it whether you want professional, casual, technical, persuasive, or all of the above.

2. Use the “Spec Format”

   
   

   • Task: What you want done.

   • Format: How the answer should be delivered (list, table, narrative).

   • Sequence: The order steps should be taken.

   • Avoid: Things you don’t want in the answer (fluff, jargon, overly long intros).

   
   

3. Add Validation Checks

   After each major step, tell GPT-5 to check if the output meets your requirements before moving on. It’s like building your own QA process right into the prompt.

4. Enable Parallel Processing

   If you have multiple independent tasks, tell GPT-5 to tackle them in parallel. It saves time and can surface better insights faster.

Stop Prompting GPT-5 Like It’s GPT-4

Why This Matters

We’re in the first wave of GPT-5 adoption, and the early advantage goes to those who adapt their prompting style fast.

If you keep prompting like it’s 2023, you’ll keep getting 2023-level answers. Upgrade your prompts, and GPT-5 can feel less like a chatbot… and more like a high-end strategic partner.

💡 Prompt of the Day

“Before responding, decompose this request into core components, create a structured approach, then execute step-by-step. After each major step, verify the output meets requirements before continuing.”

💡 Want the full breakdown + tools to put this into action?

I put the complete guide and resources on my site.

👉 www.thecornerkings.com with your next complex request — and watch the difference.