# Give Examples: Few-Shot Prompts That Copy Your Style > Paste three of your past replies into ChatGPT and get new ones that sound like you. A free, interactive few-shot prompting lesson with a reusable template. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/few-shot-prompting-chatgpt-examples-your-style · Updated 2026-10-10 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) ## Practice it step by step [Start the free practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-few-shot-examples) You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT. It checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, about 6 minutes, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Open full screen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-few-shot-examples) Free · Live now · [Prompt Writing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/prompt-writing) · [ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/chatgpt) · ~6 min · 18 steps · Beginner Updated October 10, 2026. Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. [How we check this lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about#how-we-check) Describing your writing style to [ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/chatgpt) is hard. Showing it is easy. In this free [few-shot prompting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/few-shot-prompting) lesson, a bike shop owner asks ChatGPT for a Google review reply with no examples and gets the usual corporate thank-you. Then he pastes three of his real past replies, asks again, and gets a reply that sounds like him. ## At a glance | Question | Answer | | --- | --- | | What you build | Paste three of your real past replies into ChatGPT and get new Google review replies that sound like you, not like a template. | | Tools | ChatGPT | | Time | About 6 minutes, 18 steps in 5 parts | | Level | Beginner, no coding needed | | Cost | Free | | Ways to learn it | [Practice it step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-few-shot-examples) | ### The 5 parts, in short 1. Ask with no examples: Click the message box, Paste the request, Send it. 2. Show your style: Start a new chat, Click the message box, Say what you want, Paste three real examples, and 2 more steps. 3. Compare the reply: Compare the reply. 4. Style, not facts: Click the message box, Ask for a reply to a complaint, Send it, Copy the reply. 5. Save a template: Click the message box, Ask for a template, Send it, Copy the template. **Start here first:** [Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) (module 1 of Prompt Writing) **In the course:** [Part 2 · Better Prompts](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/part-2-better-prompts) (Module 8 of the [full course](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course)) ## What you will learn You will learn few-shot prompting: putting a few real examples of the result you want inside your [prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prompt), so ChatGPT copies the pattern instead of guessing. You practice it on a job almost every small business has, replying to Google reviews in the owner's own voice, for Riverbend Bike Shop, a made-up repair shop run by an owner named Marcus. By the end you have seen the same review answered twice, once with no examples and once with three, handled a two-star complaint without ChatGPT borrowing facts from the examples, and turned the prompt into a template you can reuse for product descriptions, posts and emails. ## Who this is for This module is for owners, office managers and marketers who already use ChatGPT but keep rewriting what it gives them because it does not sound like them. No accounts are needed to practice. It is part of the Prompt Writing Toolkit and follows Prompt Writing 101, which covers the four parts of a clear prompt: [role, context, task and format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/role-context-task-format). ## Why examples work better than describing your style Words like "friendly", "casual" or "professional" mean different things to different people, so ChatGPT falls back on the most average version of them. An example removes the guessing. From three short replies, ChatGPT can see how long you write, how you open, whether you use emoji, how you handle a complaint and how you sign off, all without a single rule. Both OpenAI and Anthropic recommend examples in their prompting guides. OpenAI calls it few-shot learning: a handful of input and output examples in the prompt, and the model picks up the pattern. It suggests showing a diverse range of inputs. Anthropic's guide says examples are one of the most reliable ways to steer format, tone and structure, and that they work best when they are relevant, diverse and clearly separated from your instructions. ## How to pick good examples - Use real writing you are proud of, not something you write for the prompt. It already sounds like you. - Pick examples that differ from each other. In the lesson there is a five-star, a four-star with a fair complaint and a three-star with a real problem, so ChatGPT learns the voice rather than one situation. - Pair each example with what it answered. A review with its reply teaches more than the reply alone. - Fence the examples off with a clear marker such as ### lines or tags like , so ChatGPT can tell your examples apart from your instructions and your new request. - Start with about three. With only one, ChatGPT tends to copy it too closely. Add more if the results still drift. ## The catch: copying facts, not just style Examples are powerful because ChatGPT copies them, and sometimes it copies too much. If one example blames a late supplier and another promises a new sign, those details can show up in a reply to a completely different customer. That is how a made-up excuse or promise ends up on your Google profile. The fix is one line in your prompt: copy my style, not the facts. Ask it to use only what is in the new review, or the new product details, and nothing from the examples. Then read every reply before you post it. You are the one who knows what actually happened. ## How to use this in your business The template from the lesson works for any writing you repeat. Paste three product descriptions and ask for a fourth. Paste three past social posts and ask for one about this week's special. Paste three follow-up emails and ask for one to a new customer. Keep the template in a note or document, and keep a small folder of your best examples to paste in. If you use the same examples every day, put them in a ChatGPT Project's instructions so you do not have to paste them each time. ## Try it yourself, free Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of ChatGPT, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts. [Start “Give Examples: Few-Shot Prompts That Copy Your Style”](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-few-shot-examples) ## Step by step: Give Examples: Few-Shot Prompts That Copy Your Style All 18 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work. ### 1. Ask with no examples 1. **Click the message box.** Click the **Ask ChatGPT** message box. On a new chat it sits in the middle of the screen. Marcus owns Riverbend Bike Shop, and he answers every Google review himself. Let's see what ChatGPT writes when we give it a review and no examples. 2. **Paste the request.** Paste in the request. It asks for a reply to Priya's five-star review, with no examples of how Marcus writes. Here's the request: reply to Priya's five-star review. It's clear enough, but ChatGPT has no idea how Marcus sounds. ```text Write a reply to this Google review for my bike shop, Riverbend Bike Shop. Review (5 stars, Priya): My back wheel was wobbling on my commute bike and they fixed it the same day. Marcus even showed me how to check my tire pressure. Great little shop. ``` 3. **Send it.** Click the **send** arrow. Send it and see what comes back. ### 2. Show your style 4. **Start a new chat.** Read the reply. It’s fine, but generic: it speaks as "we", talks about Marcus instead of as Marcus, and isn’t signed by him. Yours will be worded differently, and may be wordier, with emoji or a team sign-off. Then click **New chat** at the top of the sidebar. It's polite, but it could be any business on the internet. It says we, it talks about Marcus instead of sounding like him, and he didn't sign it. Yours will be worded differently, but it won't sound like Marcus either. Let's show ChatGPT how he does write. 5. **Click the message box.** Click the **message box**. This time the prompt comes in three parts: the ask, the examples and the new review. This time the prompt has three parts: what you want, a few real examples of your writing, and the new review. 6. **Say what you want.** Paste in the the ask. It says who is writing, what to write, and that examples of your style follow. First, say what you want, and tell ChatGPT that examples of your style are coming. ```text I own Riverbend Bike Shop and I answer every Google review myself. Write my reply to a new review, in my style. Here are examples of my style: ``` 7. **Paste three real examples.** Paste in the examples. Three of Marcus's real past replies, each with its review, separated by **###** lines so ChatGPT can tell where each one starts and ends. Now the examples. These are three replies Marcus really wrote, each one with the review it answered. The lines of hash marks fence them off, so ChatGPT knows exactly where each example starts and stops. ```text ### Review (5 stars, Dana): Fast flat fix before my Saturday ride. Friendly guys. My reply: Thanks, Dana. A flat on a Saturday morning is the worst, glad we got you out the door in time. Enjoy the ride. – Marcus ### Review (4 stars, Jamal): Great tune-up, but the shop was hard to find behind the hardware store. My reply: Thanks, Jamal, and fair point. We're tucked back there. A new sign goes up this month, so next time you'll spot us from the road. – Marcus ### Review (3 stars, Lena): The e-bike battery I ordered took two weeks longer than they said. My reply: Lena, you're right, and I'm sorry. The supplier was late and I should have called you sooner. Next time I'll keep you posted. – Marcus ### ``` 8. **Add the new review.** Paste in the new review. It is the same review from Priya as before. Last, the new review. It's the same one from Priya, so you can compare the two answers fairly. ```text Now write my reply to this review: Review (5 stars, Priya): My back wheel was wobbling on my commute bike and they fixed it the same day. Marcus even showed me how to check my tire pressure. Great little shop. ``` 9. **Send it.** Click the **send** arrow. The ask, three examples, and the new review. ### 3. Compare the reply 10. **Compare the reply.** Click the **reply**. The practice copy highlights what ChatGPT picked up from the examples (real ChatGPT won't mark it up for you). That sounds like Marcus. ### 4. Style, not facts 11. **Click the message box.** Read the highlights, then click the **message box** to try a harder review in the same chat. Short thanks with her first name, one real detail from her review, no emoji, and signed by Marcus. You never described his style. The examples showed it. Now let's try a harder one, a complaint, in this same chat. 12. **Ask for a reply to a complaint.** Paste in the follow-up. It adds a guard line, **Copy my style, not the facts**, and a two-star review from Tom. Here's the catch with examples. ChatGPT can copy the facts in them, not just the style, like blaming a late supplier or promising a new sign. So add one line: copy my style, not the facts. ```text Great. Now this one. Copy my style, not the facts: don't reuse names, reasons or promises from the examples. Only use what's in this review. Review (2 stars, Tom): Quoted 3 days for a tune-up, it took 9. The work was fine, but nobody called me. ``` 13. **Send it.** Click the **send** arrow. 14. **Copy the reply.** Read it: an honest apology in Marcus's voice, with nothing borrowed from the examples. Click the **Copy** icon under the reply. (Real ChatGPT often puts the reply in a box titled "Google review reply"; the copy icon at its top right works too.) It owns the delay in Marcus's voice, and it only uses what Tom said. No supplier excuse, no new sign. It helps that one of your examples was a complaint too. That's why you pick examples that are different from each other. ### 5. Save a template 15. **Click the message box.** The reply is copied, ready to paste as your reply on your Google Business Profile. Now click the **message box** to turn this prompt into a template. That's copied, ready to paste as your reply in Google. Before you go, turn this prompt into a template you can use again. 16. **Ask for a template.** Paste in the request. It asks ChatGPT to turn your first prompt into a template with blanks. Ask ChatGPT to turn your first prompt into a template with blanks, so it works for product descriptions and posts too. 17. **Send it.** Click the **send** arrow. 18. **Copy the template.** Read the template: the ask, blanks for 3 examples, the "not the facts" line, and the new details. Yours may label them Example 1, 2, 3 instead of **###** lines, and add a list of things to match. Click the **Copy** icon on the template (in real ChatGPT, the one at the top right of the template box copies just the template). There's your template: the ask, room for three examples, the line that says copy my style, not the facts, and the new details at the end. Yours may look a little different, and that's fine. Three good examples is a great place to start. ## Frequently asked questions **What is few-shot prompting?** Few-shot prompting means putting a few examples of the result you want inside your prompt. The AI copies the pattern: length, tone, structure and sign-off. Zero-shot means asking with no examples at all. **How many examples should I give ChatGPT?** Two or three is enough to start for most everyday writing, and Anthropic's guide suggests three to five for the best results. Make them different from each other so the AI learns your voice rather than one situation. **What does ### do in a prompt?** Nothing special by itself. It is just a clear marker that shows where each example starts and ends, so ChatGPT does not mix your examples up with your instructions. XML-style tags like work too. **Why did ChatGPT copy details from my examples?** Because examples are strong signals. Add a line like "copy my style, not the facts" and ask it to use only the details of the new request, then check the result before you use it. **Is this course really free?** Yes. Stepthrough is completely free, and the practice copy needs no accounts. To do it for real you need a ChatGPT account; the free plan is enough for this technique. [Start this module free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-few-shot-examples) - Previous in Prompt Writing: [Make ChatGPT Ask You Questions First: The Interview Prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-ask-me-questions-interview-prompt) - Next in Prompt Writing: [Break Big Jobs into Steps: Prompt Chaining for a Marketing Plan](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-chaining-chatgpt-marketing-plan) ## More in Prompt Writing - [Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. - [How to Fix Bad ChatGPT Answers: Push Back, Add Constraints and Check Facts](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/how-to-fix-bad-chatgpt-answers-push-back-constraints-fact-check): Leave gaps in a prompt and ChatGPT fills them: a stiff paragraph, a made-up policy and a made-up fact. Point at the exact problem, add constraints, ask what it assumed… - [Turn a Great Prompt into Reusable Instructions](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/turn-chatgpt-prompt-into-project-instructions): Take a prompt you paste every week, sort it into permanent rules and fill-in blanks, put the rules in a ChatGPT Project, and test it with a one-line request. [All 6 modules in Prompt Writing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/prompt-writing) ## More ChatGPT tutorials - [Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/get-recommended-by-chatgpt): Ask ChatGPT who it recommends in your town, see which pages it trusts, then use it to write an FAQ page and Business Profile copy that answer real customer questions. - [Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript): Paste a long meeting transcript into ChatGPT and get the decisions, an action items table with owners and due dates, and a follow-up email ready to send. - [Reply Faster: Turn a Messy Customer Email Thread into a Clear, Friendly Reply](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): Turn a messy customer email thread into a clear, friendly reply: give ChatGPT the thread and your facts, check every promise, fix the tone, and send it from Gmail. - [ChatGPT Projects: Keep Your Brand Voice, Files and Instructions in One Place](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-brand-voice): Set up a ChatGPT Project with your brand voice instructions, your price list and your style guide, so every new chat already knows your business. - [Analyze a Spreadsheet with ChatGPT: Upload a CSV, Get a Chart and Three Takeaways](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-analyze-spreadsheet-csv): Upload a CSV of sales to ChatGPT, have it check the data first, ask your questions, get a chart you can download, and finish with the three takeaways that matter. - [ChatGPT Work: Have ChatGPT Do a Multi-Step Task](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-work-multi-step-task): Switch ChatGPT to Work, hand it a real job (compare three suppliers into a spreadsheet), approve the sites it opens, skip a login, answer its question, check the file… ## Terms in this lesson Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [Few-shot prompting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/few-shot-prompting) · [Prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prompt) · [Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/role-context-task-format) · [OpenAI](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/openai) · [Anthropic](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/anthropic) · [Follow-up email](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/follow-up-email) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Browse related tutorials [Prompt Writing (6)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/prompt-writing) · [ChatGPT tutorials (30)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/chatgpt)