It was May month of 2023 when I first started using an AI tool in my blogging. I used Jasper AI to assist me in writing high-quality content.
If you’ve ever used an AI tool, then you must be aware of prompting. The words or set of instructions we type in the AI tool’s interface allow it to generate a response as an answer.
Well, prompting is the combination of engineering and art. And the two most powerful techniques in prompting are Zero-Shot and Few-Shot Prompting.
Whether you are writing content or building an AI tool, you must understand the difference between these two to get a high-quality result.
In this blog post, I’ll break down Zero-Shot vs Few-Shot Prompting in a super simple way for you.
Let’s dive into these two promoting methods and get most accurate results from AI tools.
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First off,
What is Prompting in AI?
Prompting in AI is the set of instructions we give the AI tool to get the desired result.
For example, if you used ChatGPT, when you provide it a title to generate an article around it- it is a prompt.
In simple words, a prompt is a message or question we type in the AI tool interface to tell it what we want.
There are 3 main types of prompting,
- Zero-Shot Prompting – No examples, just a question
- Few-Shot Prompting – Give a few examples with your question to make the LLM understand what you actually want.
- One-Shot Prompting – Just one example given
What is Zero-Shot Prompting?
Zero-shot prompting means that when you ask an AI tool to perform a task without providing it any examples.
You just type a clear instruction or question—and the AI tries to figure it out on its own LLM model and logic.
For example,
Suppose you ask a friend:
“Translate ‘Good Morning’ into French.”
Here, you can see you haven’t given any examples—you just asked directly. That’s zero-shot prompting.
The AI reads your prompt, understands the task from its LLM, and responds accordingly, like:
“Bonjour”
Another good example is summarizing content like this,
Prompt: “Summarize this paragraph in one sentence.”
Output: A concise one-line summary.
What is Few-Shot Prompting?
On the other hand, Few-Shot Prompting is a prompt given with few examples to make the AI understand the query well.
Like we can ask the AI after giving 2-3 examples of the task you want.
“Hey AI, here’s how this works. Now do one like these.”
This helps the AI understand the format, tone, or logic you expect.
It is just like you’re teaching someone to solve problems.
You give 2–3 examples first, then say:
“Now try this one.”
That’s actually what few-shot prompting does for the AI.
You can use this technique in different types of tasks. Let me use it for translating.
Prompt:
Translate the following:
English: Hello → French: Bonjour
English: Good night → French: Bonne nuit
English: Thank you → French:
Output: Merci
In the above example, I have given 2 examples and then asked the AI to translate the third word.
Zero-Shot vs Few-Shot Prompting
| Feature | Zero-Shot Prompting | Few-Shot Prompting |
|---|---|---|
| Examples Given | None | Yes (More then one example) |
| Used for | Basic tasks | Yes (More than one example) |
| Accuracy Level | Vary depending on the prompt clarity | More accurate and reliable |
| Prompt Length | Short | Slightly longer |
| Best For | Quick tasks | Creative and more detailed work |
| Weakness | Misunderstand complex instructions | Needs carefully chosen examples |
When Should You Use Zero-Shot and When Few-Shot Prompting?
We can use Zero-Shot prompting is various types of tasks, such as,
- Listing
- Summarizing text
- Application writing
- Quick answer to any question
- Translation etc.
Few shot prompting can be used for heavy tasks like,
- Story writing
- Blog post writing
- Image generation
- Resume building
- Reasoning etc
Few-shot prompting can be used for getting complex, creative, and structured replies, when you want the AI to follow a specific style or pattern.
Response generated by few-shot prompting are more accurate and consistent towards the query.
On the other hand, when we want quick answers without writing long prompts, you can use zero shot prompting and instead the few-shot prompting.
My Tip: if you are not getting the result you want with a zero shot prompting then you can try giving two or three clear examples and make the prompt “few shot prompt”.
When you use examples, you can see a big difference in the quality of the output.
Pros and Cons of Zero-Shot Prompting
Pros:
- Quick & easy to write prompts
- No need for Examples
- Great for simple tasks like summarizing text, etc.
- Time saver
Cons:
- Low accuracy for Complex Tasks
- Lacks personalization like tone, style, or format.
- Can misunderstand your query
Pros and Cons of Few-Shot Prompting
Pros:
- More accurate results
- Custom output Style
- Ideal for complex or creative tasks, like writing, formatting, categorization, or content generation.
- Improved consistency
Cons:
- Longer Prompts
- Requires good example quality
- Harder to use in real-time, like if you’re working fast or on mobile.
Which One Should You Use as a Beginner?
The use case of both the promoting styles solely depends on the response we want. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, you can use both styles.
But, if you want to practice with it, you can start with Zero-Shot Prompting as a beginner.
Because…
- It’s simple
- Less time-consuming
- No need to worry about examples
- Great for learning how AI reacts to different types of instructions
When you have some knowledge of promoting shift to few-shot prompting, then.
Conclusion
At the end, both Zero-Shot and Few-Shot Prompting are powerful tools but for different purposes, as more as you know when and how to use them.
Zero-Shot is perfect for quick, simple tasks where you just want a direct answer without much setup. For an example, you want a translation to a paragraph in different language.
Few-Shot can be used when you need better control, consistent output while working on complex or creative tasks.
For a complete beginner, I recommend, zero-shot prompting style. Once you’re comfortable, experiment with few-shot prompting to level up your AI prompt engineering.
The secret to great results is all in the prompt. So, keep testing and tweaking your prompts and with time you will be better in it.
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