Lesson 1 · 8 min
What a prompt actually is
A prompt is a program — written in English (or any language). Treat it that way.
A prompt is a program
When you type something into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, you're not 'asking a question'. You're executing code in natural language. The model reads your prompt, then samples the next most-likely tokens given that context.
This reframe matters: programs are written, debugged, and tested. Prompts are too — or they should be.