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Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics

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Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics

This course is part of multiple programs.

Instructors: Antonio Cangiano

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3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

8,033 reviews

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Recommended experience

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1 week at 10 hours a week

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97%

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3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

8,033 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Explain the concept and relevance of prompt engineering in generative AI models.
Apply the best practices for creating prompts.
Assess commonly used tools for prompt engineering.
Apply common prompt engineering techniques and approaches for writing effective prompts.

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

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Assessments

5 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 3 modules in this course

As generative AI (GenAI) reshapes workplaces and job roles, using it effectively is now essential. Prompt engineering is the key to directing GenAI models and refining their output for desired results.

This course is for professionals, executives, students, and AI enthusiasts ready to harness prompt engineering to unlock tools like ChatGPT. You’ll learn practical techniques, structured methods, and best practices for crafting strong prompts. Explore zero-shot and few-shot prompting to boost reliability and output quality. Discover advanced methods such as the Interview Pattern, Chain-of-Thought, and Tree-of-Thought to produce accurate, context-aware responses. Hands-on labs and projects provide experience with multimodal prompting, the playoff method, and image generation. You’ll practice blending text and visuals and evaluating AI outputs for precision and usefulness. Podcasts, dialogues, and discussions link theory to real-world scenarios, while expert insights highlight strategies for effective prompt use. A final project and graded assessments ensure you can apply these techniques with confidence, leaving you with practical, job-ready skills. Hear from practitioners about the techniques and artistry behind writing impactful prompts. Enroll today to master prompt engineering and unlock GenAI’s potential.

In this module, you will learn the concept of prompt engineering in generative AI. You will also learn the best practices for writing effective prompts and assess common prompt engineering tools.

What's included

7 videos4 readings2 assignments3 app items1 discussion prompt1 plugin

7 videosTotal 38 minutes

Course Introduction3 minutes
What Is a Prompt? 5 minutes
What Is Prompt Engineering? 6 minutes
Best Practices for Prompt Creation6 minutes
Common Prompt Engineering Tools6 minutes
Expert Viewpoints: Best Practices for Effective Prompts5 minutes
Expert Viewpoints: Exploring Prompt Engineering in Generative AI6 minutes

4 readingsTotal 25 minutes

Course Overview8 minutes
Specialization Overview8 minutes
Helpful Tips for Course Completion5 minutes
Reading: Lesson Summary: Concept of Prompt Engineering4 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 35 minutes

Practice Quiz: Concept of Prompt Engineering10 minutes
Graded Quiz: Prompt Engineering for Generative AI 25 minutes

3 app itemsTotal 80 minutes

Lab: Getting to Know Our AI Prompting Tool20 minutes
Lab: Experimenting with Prompts40 minutes
Lab: Naive Prompting and Persona Pattern20 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

AI in Everyday Interactions10 minutes

1 pluginTotal 3 minutes

Podcast: Recap: Concept of Prompt Engineering3 minutes

In this module, you will discover techniques for skillfully crafting prompts that effectively steer generative AI models. You will also learn about various prompt engineering approaches that can enhance the capabilities of generative AI models to produce precise and relevant responses.

What's included

5 videos1 reading2 assignments4 app items1 discussion prompt4 plugins

5 videosTotal 24 minutes

Text-to-Text Prompt Techniques6 minutes
Interview Pattern Approach3 minutes
Chain-of-Thought Approach5 minutes
Tree-of-Thought Approach7 minutes
Expert Viewpoints: Key Considerations in Choosing Prompt Engineering Approach4 minutes

1 readingTotal 2 minutes

Reading: Lesson Summary: Key Techniques of Prompt Engineering2 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 31 minutes

Practice Quiz: Techniques and Approaches for Writing Effective Prompts10 minutes
Graded Quiz: Prompt Engineering: Techniques and Approaches21 minutes

4 app itemsTotal 140 minutes

Lab: The Interview Pattern Approach in Prompt Engineering20 minutes
Lab: The Chain-of-Thought Approach in Prompt Engineering30 minutes
Lab: The Tree-of-Thought Approach to Prompt Engineering30 minutes
Lab: Playoff Method60 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

The Future of Interaction: Prompt Engineering in Practice10 minutes

4 pluginsTotal 53 minutes

Reading: Multimodal Prompts10 minutes
Lab: Multimodal Prompts30 minutes
Reading: The Playoff Method: A Powerful Tool in Prompt Engineering10 minutes
Podcast: Recap: Key Techniques of Prompt Engineering3 minutes

This module includes a graded quiz to test and reinforce your understanding of concepts covered in the course. The module also includes a glossary to enhance comprehension of generative AI-related terms. The module includes a final project, which provides an opportunity to gain hands-on experience on the concepts covered in the course. The module also includes optional content. This content includes the techniques for writing effective prompts for image generation. Additionally, you can learn about Prompt Lab, a prompting tool designed to maximize your prompt engineering capabilities in IBM watsonx.

What's included

2 videos3 readings1 assignment2 app items1 discussion prompt2 plugins

2 videosTotal 11 minutes

Text-to-Image Prompts Techniques6 minutes
Course Wrap up5 minutes

3 readingsTotal 10 minutes

Prompt Hacks6 minutes
Congratulations and Next Steps2 minutes
Team and Acknowledgements2 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Final Quiz: Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics30 minutes

2 app itemsTotal 60 minutes

Lab: Effective Text Prompts for Image Generation30 minutes
Final Project: Applying Prompt Engineering Techniques and Best Practices30 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Tackling Real-World Challenges with AI 10 minutes

2 pluginsTotal 7 minutes

Course Glossary3 minutes
Podcast: The Future of Prompt Engineering 4 minutes

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Instructors

Instructor ratings

(1,289 ratings)

Antonio Cangiano

IBM

9 Courses739,509 learners

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IBM

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Reviewed on Jul 24, 2025

This course was an eye-opening introduction into the power of prompt engineering and how strategic inputs can drive more accurate, creative, and relevant responses from generative AI models.

Reviewed on Feb 27, 2025

Excellent course that brings clarity to the new world of Artificial Intelligence. I needed to understand why AI was so important and now I know! Thanks IBM and Coursera.

Reviewed on Aug 3, 2024

Me gusto mucho, es muy entretenido y me resulto de gran ayuda todos estos consejos que claramente pondre en practica. GRACIAS COURSERA Y SENATEC :)

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Frequently asked questions

No. This course is designed for non-technical professionals, executives, and students. We focus on "natural language programming"—the ability to use clear, structured English to direct AI behavior. While we explore advanced concepts like chain-of-thought and tree-of-thought, the goal is to help you communicate your intent effectively to models like ChatGPT without writing a single line of code.

This course goes beyond simple instructions to teach you the high-level strategies used by professional prompt engineers. You will learn to use zero-shot and few-shot prompting for immediate results, and master the interview pattern and chain-of-thought to solve complex, multi-step problems. You’ll also gain hands-on experience with multimodal prompting, learning how to blend text and images for high-fidelity generative outputs.

As organizations increasingly integrate AI into their daily operations, the ability to generate reliable, high-quality AI output has become acritical workplace competency. This IBM-designed course provides you with "job-ready" skills to automate repetitive tasks, refine business strategy, and enhance creative workflows. By earning a certificate from the IBM, you demonstrate to employers that you can navigate the "art and science" of AI communication to drive measurable productivity.

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.