AI strategy consulting

Mastering Prompt Engineering for OpenAI’s O1 Models

Ryan Flanagan
Feb 19, 2025By Ryan Flanagan

Unlocking the Full Potential of AI with Better Prompts

The effectiveness of AI models depends entirely on how well they are instructed. With OpenAI’s O1 models, prompt engineering has evolved, offering more precision, flexibility, and structured outputs compared to GPT-4.

For businesses looking to automate processes, enhance content creation, or optimise workflows, mastering prompt engineering is essential. O1 models introduce new capabilities that make AI-generated results more reliable, but they also require a refined approach to prompting to unlock their full potential.

This guide breaks down how O1 differs from GPT-4, the best techniques for improving AI responses, and how businesses can apply these insights to streamline operations.

What Makes OpenAI’s O1 Model Different?

Unlike GPT-4, O1 models offer structured outputs, improved context retention, and enhanced adaptability. These improvements make O1 particularly useful for business applications, research, and automation.

Key differences include:

  • More Structured Outputs – Ideal for data analysis, financial reporting, and research summaries, ensuring consistency in responses.
  • Stronger Context Retention – Allows for longer, more detailed conversations, making AI more effective in customer service and business workflows.
  • Optimised for Specific Tasks – Designed to handle complex requests, making it well suited for market research, lead generation, and automation.

To get the most from O1, businesses need to rethink how they structure their prompts.

How to Write Effective Prompts for O1 Models

Be Clear and Specific
O1 performs best when given explicit instructions. Avoid vague prompts and instead define the expected output clearly.

Poor prompt:
"Tell me about digital marketing."

Improved prompt:
"Summarise the latest trends in digital marketing, focusing on social media advertising, SEO, and content marketing strategies. Provide key insights relevant to e-commerce businesses."

By specifying topics, format, and target audience, O1 delivers relevant, structured responses.

Use Step-by-Step Instructions

O1 models process multi-step queries more effectively than GPT-4, but they still require a structured approach.

Poor prompt:
"Summarise this report and give me three key insights."

Improved prompt:
"1. Read the report and identify the main themes.
2. Summarise each theme in a paragraph.
3. Provide three key insights with supporting data."

By breaking down tasks, O1 follows a logical sequence, improving the accuracy and usability of responses.

Set Format and Tone Expectations

O1 models respond well to formatting requests. If you need a structured output, specify the format in your prompt.

Example for business reports:

*"Summarise the following financial report in table format, including:

  • Total revenue
  • Best-selling products
  • Market growth trends
  • Use a professional, concise tone suitable for an investor presentation."*

By guiding format and tone, the output becomes more polished and business-ready, reducing manual editing time.

Optimise for Business Use Cases

For business automation, O1 needs role-specific instructions.

Example for customer support:

*"Act as a customer service representative.

  • Read the customer’s complaint.
  • Generate a professional, empathetic response.
  • Provide a solution or offer an alternative."*

This trains O1 to generate structured, on-brand responses that improve efficiency in customer interactions.

Leverage O1 for Data Analysis and Automation

One of O1’s strengths is handling structured data and complex reports, making it an effective tool for market research, sales analysis, and workflow automation.

Example for market research:

*"Extract the following from this industry report and present it in a structured summary:

  • Key trends
  • Emerging challenges
  • Competitive landscape
  • Recommended strategies for businesses."*

This approach ensures that businesses get actionable insights, not just generic summaries.

Real-World Applications for Businesses

By refining prompting techniques, businesses can use O1 for:

  1. Content Creation – Generate blog posts, marketing copy, and product descriptions with tailored prompts.
  2. Data Analysis – Extract and summarise insights from reports, market research, and financial data.
  3. Customer Support Automation – Provide structured, professional responses to customer queries.
  4. Workflow Optimisation – Automate meeting notes, email summaries, and task management.
  5. Sales and Lead Generation – Personalise outreach messages, segment customer data, and optimise engagement strategies.

For businesses that rely on AI-driven automation, O1 offers more accuracy, structure, and relevance than previous models.

Integrate AI into Your Business Without Technical Complexity
Understanding prompt engineering is just the beginning. To fully streamline operations and implement AI at scale, businesses need an accessible, no-code approach.

We help businesses quickly integrate AI solutions using low-code platforms, removing technical barriers and ensuring smooth deployment.

Get in touch to explore how AI can transform your business today.