What is few shot prompting?

Few shot prompting is a technique used when interacting with AI language models where you provide a small number of examples, typically between two and five, demonstrating the exact input and output pattern you want before asking the AI to complete a similar new task. This approach helps the model understand the specific format, tone, or style you're looking for far more reliably than simply describing what you want in abstract terms, since showing is often more effective than telling when it comes to guiding AI behavior. For example, if you wanted an AI to write product descriptions in a particular style, you might show it two or three example product descriptions written the way you like, then ask it to write a new one for a different product following that same pattern. This differs from zero-shot prompting, where you give no examples at all and rely entirely on instructions, and it's generally more effective for tasks that require a specific format, tone, or structure that's hard to fully explain in words alone. Few shot prompting is widely used in professional and technical AI applications because it significantly improves output consistency and reduces the need for extensive manual editing afterward.