Why Saying "Please" to AI Actually Works

Why Saying "Please" to AI Actually Works (And Gets You Better Results)
 

We all know that “Manner’s cost nothing”, but it turns out they can actually make your AI work better.

Research now confirms that how you phrase your prompts to Large Language Models (LLMs) directly affects their performance. Speak clearly and politely? You get better, more accurate responses. Bark orders at it? You might get something half-baked—or worse, completely off the mark.

This isn’t about AI having feelings (we’re not there… yet). It’s about how these models are trained—on human communication patterns, where structure, context, and tone all play a role in response quality.

The Science Behind Politeness in AI Prompts

A recent study on politeness and AI responses found that:


✅ Rude prompts result in worse responses – More errors, stronger biases, and missing details.


✅ Overly polite doesn’t always help – There’s an optimal level of politeness for the best AI output.


✅ AI mirrors human communication norms – Just like people respond better to polite conversation, AI trained on human data does too.

Essentially, the way you interact with AI impacts the clarity, accuracy, and usefulness of its responses.

Why AI Cares About How You Speak to It

LLMs don’t have emotions, but they do have patterns. These models are trained on vast amounts of human communication—emails, articles, conversations—and they’ve learned to associate well-structured, polite queries with better-quality responses.

Think of it like asking a colleague for help. If you snap, “Do this now,” you might get the bare minimum. But if you say, “Would you mind pulling together a quick summary of this? Looking for the key takeaways,” you’re far more likely to get a well-thought-out response.

AI works in a similar way.

The AI Prompting Sweet Spot

So, how do you phrase prompts for the best AI results?

🎯 Avoid vague or blunt phrasing – "Do this now" isn’t as effective as "Could you please do X?"


🎯 Use clear, structured sentences – The more clarity you give, the better the response.


🎯 Keep it politely assertive – No need to be over the top, but a simple “please” and some context go a long way.

💡 Example:

•   🚫 “Summarise this document.”

•   ✅ “Could you summarise this document in three key points, focusing on X and Y?”

The second approach gives you more useful results.

Speaking to Your AI Can Improve Prompting

If typing out structured prompts feels like a chore, here’s a shortcut: talk to it instead.

Speaking naturally often results in clearer, more structured queries. ChatGPT already has a voice mode, which means you can verbally communicate with it, and it will transcribe your request. This method encourages better-formatted prompts and avoids the rushed, vague style we sometimes slip into when typing.

Why This Matters for Businesses Using AI

For businesses integrating AI tools like ChatGPT in customer service, content creation, or data analysis, structured and polite prompts make a real difference.

✅ More reliable responses – AI is less likely to “hallucinate” (AKA make things up).

✅ Less bias in answers – Research shows politeness in prompts reduces stereotypical biases.


✅ Saves time & costs – Smaller, more affordable AI models perform better when given structured, polite prompts.

Final Thoughts: Good Manners Get You Better AI Responses

Manners might not cost a thing, but when it comes to AI, they pay off in better, more useful answers. Whether you’re using AI for work, content creation, or data analysis, the way you prompt - it matters.

So, next time you fire up ChatGPT or Claude, try treating it like a helpful colleague rather than a search engine. You might be surprised at the difference it makes.

Want to learn more read my no-nonsense guide to automating with AI