Chain of Thought
A prompting technique that improves AI reasoning by requesting step-by-step explanations.
Definition
Chain of thought prompting asks AI to show its work—thinking through problems step by step rather than jumping to conclusions. This technique dramatically improves performance on complex reasoning, math, and logic tasks.
By externalizing the reasoning process, chain of thought also makes AI decision-making more transparent and verifiable.
Why It Matters
Chain of thought transforms AI from a black box into a collaborative thinking partner. Seeing the reasoning helps users catch errors and understand confidence levels.
This technique often reveals that simple changes to prompting can unlock significantly better results.
Examples in Practice
A prompt ending with "let's think through this step by step" doubles accuracy on a complex logic problem.
An analyst uses chain of thought prompting to verify the AI's financial calculations by examining each step.
A coding assistant explains its approach before writing code, allowing the developer to redirect before implementation.