Generating ideas doesn't have to be tied to your inspiration alone. AIs like ChatGPT are amazing with it if you choose the prompt correctly.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to three different prompt engineering techniques that have proven effective based on the results of my tests. So, let’s skip the intro and start with the number 1.

1. Champions League Election

Photo by Humberto Santos on Unsplash

The thinking process often starts by comparing possible options and finding the reasons for each of them. Next, you will compare them, shortlist the ideas, and decide which one is the winner based on your reasons.

Those reasons depend on your task, or simply on what matters most to you.

In this method, we’ll use the following prompt to help compare ideas with ChatGPT. You can improve the prompt by adding a reason (like “highest ROI”), but for now, let’s try the simplest version.

Find 32 AI startup ideas, run 1v1 matchups (32→16→8→4→2→1), and pick the winner by comparison.

Here is the output.

Comparing Startup Ideas with the Champions League Election Prompt

As you can see, I compared ideas for you, found the winner, and added the reason for the winner. If you want to add a reason for each step, you can easily adjust this.

I used this method and explained it in depth in this article.

Socratic method

Socrat- Generated with Midjourney

The Socratic method originates from Socratic questioning. Socrates used this questioning method, starting with Clarification and going to meta-reflection.

I explained this method in this article in depth.

6 steps of Socratic questioning

The prompt we are going to use will touch on each of these steps.

Warmly welcome the user and ask for their ideas.

Use the 6-question method to explore any idea or keyword the user suggests:
— Clarification
— Assumptions
— Evidence
— Perspective
— Consequences
— Meta-reflection

Based on answers of the questions, generate multiple ideas for the user and suggest them.

Also, I created a custom GPT using this prompt; you can use it for free here and here.

Now, let’s use the AI startup idea, which is the winner of the Champions League Election. Here is my prompt;

I want to brainstorm about this idea : AI Mental Health Copilot

Here is the output.

Socrates GPT’s output

You can, of course, answer those questions, but one trick would do it all faster.

Answer those questions like me based on our previous conversations

If you have a ChatGPT account, it can remember your previous conversations, which is why it is going to answer those questions, based on your tone. After approving this, here are the 5 AI ideas.

AI Startup ideas

If you want to use AI to generate your start-up ideas, check out this one too.

Brainstorm Products

Brainstorm Products, reference.

Now, in the previous two prompts, we have crafted prompts for ideas, but we are living in a world where everywhere is a marketplace and there are products all over.

So, it would be good to have a prompt for brainstorming products. That’s why I searched this on the web and found this prompt. Here is the prompt;

 1. List 10 emerging trends or technologies in INDUSTRY that could potentially disrupt the market or create new opportunities.
 2. Identify 5 major pain points or unmet needs in INDUSTRY, focusing specifically on those related to PROBLEM.
 3. Generate 10 unconventional or “out-of-the-box” product ideas that combine aspects of TREND with solving PROBLEM in INDUSTRY. Don’t worry about feasibility at this stage.
 4. For each of the 10 ideas, briefly describe its core functionality and primary benefit to the user in one sentence.
 5. Select the 3 most promising ideas from the list. For each, identify 3 potential target user groups and their specific use cases.
 6. For the top 3 ideas, brainstorm 5 unique features or capabilities that would set each product apart from existing solutions in INDUSTRY.
 7. Imagine potential obstacles or challenges for each of the top 3 ideas. List 3 major hurdles for each and suggest possible ways to overcome them.
 8. Combine elements from the top 3 ideas to create 2 hybrid product concepts that might offer more comprehensive solutions to PROBLEM.
 9. For each of the 2 hybrid concepts, describe a “day in the life” scenario showcasing how the product would be used and its impact on the user.
 10. Evaluate the 2 hybrid concepts and the original top 3 ideas based on innovation, market potential, and alignment with TREND. Rank them from most to least promising.
 11. For the highest-ranked idea, outline a basic product roadmap including 3 development phases and key milestones for bringing it to market.

Let’s paste it into ChatGPT. Here is the output.

ChatGPT’s output

Let’s define these three, I defined.

• AI
• Non-tech people struggle to build AI Products
• No-Code Tools

Here is the result.

The output of ChatGPT

As you can see, it provides excellent detail, including product suggestions, roadmaps, target audiences, and unique features.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we have discovered three different prompting techniques to brainstorm with AI, especially ChatGPT.

If you like what you saw, we also have a Substack account and a platform where we develop no-code tools. See you there!

Here are the free sources.

Here are the free resources.

Here is the ChatGPT cheat sheet.

Here is the Prompt Techniques cheat sheet.

Here is my NumPy cheat sheet.

Here is the source code of the “How to be a Billionaire” data project.

Here is the source code of the “Classification Task with 6 Different Algorithms using Python” data project.

Here is the source code of the “Decision Tree in Energy Efficiency Analysis” data project.

Here is the source code of the “DataDrivenInvestor 2022 Articles Analysis” data project.

“Machine learning is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make.” Nick Bostrom

Originally published at https://medium.com/@geencay.