A legal firm uses a generative AI to draft contracts. They want the output to follow a specific clause structure. Which technique should they use in the prompt?
A system instruction sets persistent behavioural constraints applied before user turns, so the model reliably follows the firm's clause structure across every draft. Embedding the format in the system role enforces consistency that one-off prompt wording cannot guarantee.
Why this answer
A system instruction (or system message) sets the overall behavior and output format for the generative AI model, effectively constraining it to follow a specific clause structure. This is the most direct and reliable technique for enforcing a predefined format in the prompt, as it operates at the model's instruction-following layer.
Exam trap
Candidates may confuse structural/format control (system instructions) with content control (grounding, temperature) or output termination (stop sequences). In Google Gen AI, system instructions are the primary method to enforce output structure, not grounding which pulls external data.
How to eliminate wrong answers
Option B is wrong because increasing temperature encourages more randomness and variance in the output, which is the opposite of what is needed for a consistent, structured clause format. Option C is wrong because grounding (e.g., using Retrieval-Augmented Generation) pulls relevant data from a database but does not enforce a specific output structure; it provides content, not format constraints. Option D is wrong because stop sequences only terminate generation at a specific token or phrase, but they do not guide the model to produce a particular clause structure throughout the entire output.