Chain of Thought
Chain of Thought is a prompting technique for AI models where the model is asked to show its step-by-step reasoning before giving a final answer, like 'showing its work' on a math problem.
How it works
It works by structuring the prompt to encourage the AI to break down complex problems into intermediate steps, which significantly improves accuracy on tasks requiring logic or calculation. This matters because it makes the AI's reasoning process more transparent and reliable, reducing errors.
Examples
- 1.An AI solving a multi-step word problem by first defining variables, then writing equations, and finally solving them sequentially.
- 2.A customer service AI explaining its reasoning for classifying a support ticket before suggesting a solution.
- 3.A coding assistant outlining the logic it will use before generating a block of complex code.