Grok prompt guide

How to prompt Grok

1. Give concrete material (data, notes, the actual text) rather than placeholders; xAI stresses detailed, concrete queries.
2. State a specific goal and success criteria up front.
3. Trigger live data explicitly: 'search X for posts from the last 24 hours about...' or 'search the web'.
4. Use Grok for real-time sentiment and trend questions; specify the time window and what to compare.
5. If you want a firm recommendation, ask for one directly ('give your pick and why, no hedging').
6. Structure longer prompts with Markdown headings or XML tags.
7. Ask for sources or links for any claim from search results.
8. Use Expert or Heavy mode for hard reasoning, Fast for quick answers.
9. Iterate with short follow-ups rather than rewriting the whole prompt.
10. Specify output format and length; Grok 4.7 tends to produce long output.

The shape of a good prompt

## Goal
[what you want and why]
## Context
[facts, pasted data, constraints]
## Live data
[search X / web, time window, sources wanted]
## Output
[format, length, take a clear position?]

Avoid

• Vague one-liners with no context
• Expecting current events without asking it to search
• Leaving placeholders instead of real data
• Asking for balanced overviews when you actually want a verdict

Example

Request what do people think of the new iphone

## Goal
Give me a snapshot of public reaction to the newest iPhone model.

## Live data
Search X posts from the last 7 days and recent reviews on the web. Cite the posts and articles you rely on.

## Output
- 3 most-praised features and 3 most-common complaints, each with a one-line example quote
- Overall sentiment: positive, mixed or negative, with a one-sentence reason
- Your direct verdict on whether it is worth upgrading from a two-year-old iPhone
Keep it under 250 words.