7 Key Prompt Engineering Parameters Everyone Should Know

Abhinav Kimothi
4 min readJul 11, 2023
Photo by Mojahid Mottakin on Unsplash

Generative AI, ChatGPT and Prompt Engineering

The recent surge in apps harnessing the power of generative AI has been mind-blowing. One popular example of generative AI is ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI. Prompt engineering plays a crucial role in harnessing the power of generative AI models like ChatGPT by shaping the desired output.

Let’s explore seven key prompt engineering parameters that everyone should know to make the most out of generative AI models.

1. Context Window

The context window parameter determines the amount of text that the model takes into account when generating a response. By adjusting the context window, you can control the level of context the model considers while generating the output. A smaller context window focuses on immediate context, while a larger context window provides a broader context. For example, setting the context window to 100 tokens allows the model to consider the last 100 tokens of input text.

Credit : OpenAI Documentation

2. Max Tokens

Max tokens parameter defines the maximum number of tokens in the generated response. Tokens can be thought of as the individual units of text, which can be words or characters. By setting the max tokens value, you can limit the length of the generated output. For instance, if the max tokens value is set to 50, the model will generate a response containing a maximum of 50 tokens.

3. Temperature

Temperature is a parameter that controls the randomness of the generated output. A higher temperature value, such as 1.0, leads to more randomness and diversity in the generated text. On the other hand, a lower temperature value, like 0.2, produces more focused and deterministic responses. Adjusting the temperature allows you to influence the creativity and exploration of the model.

4. Top P

Top P, also known as nucleus sampling or probabilistic sampling, determines the cumulative probability distribution used for sampling the next token in the generated response. By setting a value for top P, you can control the diversity of the output. A higher top P value, for example, 0.9, allows more choices to be considered while sampling, resulting in more diverse responses. Conversely, a lower top P value, like 0.3, limits the choices and generates more focused responses.

5. Top N

Top N is another parameter used for sampling the next token, similar to top P. However, instead of using a cumulative probability distribution, top N considers only the top N most likely tokens at each step. By adjusting the top N value, you can manage the diversity of the generated output. A higher top N value, such as 10, allows more options to be considered, resulting in diverse responses. Conversely, a lower top N value, like 3, limits the choices and produces more focused responses.

6. Presence Penalty

Presence penalty is a parameter used to discourage the model from mentioning certain words or phrases in the generated response. By assigning a higher presence penalty value, such as 2.0, you can reduce the likelihood of specific words or phrases in the output. This parameter is useful when you want to avoid certain content or bias in the generated text.

7. Frequency Penalty

Frequency penalty is another parameter that can be used to control the repetition of words or phrases in the generated output. By setting a higher frequency penalty value, like 1.5, you can penalize the model for repeating the same words or phrases excessively. This helps in generating more diverse and varied responses.

Credit : OpenAI Playground

Enhancing Prompt Engineering for Better AI Outputs

Understanding and utilizing prompt engineering parameters is crucial for obtaining desired outputs from generative AI models like ChatGPT. By adjusting context window, max tokens, temperature, top P, top N, presence penalty, and frequency penalty, you can fine-tune the model’s behavior and generate responses that align with your requirements. Experimenting with these parameters allows data science, AI enthusiasts, product folks, and tech enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of generative AI and create innovative applications.

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Abhinav Kimothi

Co-founder and Head of AI @ Yarnit.app || Data Science, Analytics & AIML since 2007 || BITS-Pilani, ISB-Hyderabad || Ex-HSBC, Ex-Genpact, Ex-LTI || Theatre