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n. / Prompts and context
Few-shot prompting
Definition
Few-shot prompting is including a handful of worked examples in the prompt so the model copies their pattern. Zero-shot means no examples, and one-shot means a single example.
In more detail
Examples are often the strongest way to fix a format or tone problem. Choose varied, correct examples, keep them short, and watch the token cost since they are sent on every call. Poor or inconsistent examples teach the wrong pattern as reliably as good ones teach the right one.
Example
To label tickets, the prompt shows three tickets with their labels: "billing", "bug" and "feature request". The model labels the fourth ticket in the same style.
