Prompt Frameworks

AI Prompt Frameworks

A prompt framework is a reusable structure that tells the AI exactly what you want. These seven are the most useful ones to know — each with what it stands for, when to use it, real examples, and a copy-ready template.

RTF

Beginner

Role, Task, Format

Best for

Quick, everyday prompts where you just need a clean, well-shaped answer.

See how it works

TAG

Beginner

Task, Action, Goal

Best for

Goal-driven requests where being clear about the outcome matters more than the persona.

See how it works

RACE

Intermediate

Role, Action, Context, Expectation

Best for

Business and expert tasks that need real context to come out right.

See how it works

CRAFT

Intermediate

Context, Role, Action, Format, Tone

Best for

A reliable general-purpose default for most everyday and professional prompts.

See how it works

CO-STAR

Advanced

Context, Objective, Style, Tone, Audience, Response

Best for

Customer-facing and marketing content where tone, audience, and format need tight control.

See how it works

CRISPE

Advanced

Capacity & Role, Insight, Statement, Personality, Experiment

Best for

Exploratory and strategic work where you want several distinct options to compare.

See how it works

RISEN

Advanced

Role, Instructions, Steps, End goal, Narrowing

Best for

Complex, multi-step tasks that need to be broken down and constrained.

See how it works

Which framework should you use?

Start simple and add structure only when the task needs it. Here's a quick guide to picking one.

Framework	Stands for	Reach for it when…
RTF	Role, Task, Format	Quick, everyday prompts where you just need a clean, well-shaped answer.
TAG	Task, Action, Goal	Goal-driven requests where being clear about the outcome matters more than the persona.
RACE	Role, Action, Context, Expectation	Business and expert tasks that need real context to come out right.
CRAFT	Context, Role, Action, Format, Tone	A reliable general-purpose default for most everyday and professional prompts.
CO-STAR	Context, Objective, Style, Tone, Audience, Response	Customer-facing and marketing content where tone, audience, and format need tight control.
CRISPE	Capacity & Role, Insight, Statement, Personality, Experiment	Exploratory and strategic work where you want several distinct options to compare.
RISEN	Role, Instructions, Steps, End goal, Narrowing	Complex, multi-step tasks that need to be broken down and constrained.

What is a prompt framework?

A prompt framework is a repeatable structure for writing prompts. Instead of typing whatever comes to mind, you fill in a few named slots — like role, context, and format — that cover the things the AI most needs to know. The result is more consistent, more useful output, with far less back-and-forth.

No single framework is "best." Simple ones like RTF are perfect for quick tasks; richer ones like CO-STAR or RISEN earn their extra structure on complex, high-stakes work. The skill is matching the framework to the job — and that gets easier with practice.

Want to skip the theory? Our guides to improving prompts show topic-by-topic fixes, and the free prompt builder applies these principles for you automatically.

Don't want to memorise frameworks?

Prompt Orange builds a structured, framework-quality prompt for you— answer a few questions and get a perfect prompt in under 2 minutes. Free, no signup.

Try it free

Last updated 2026-06-19