Chain of Thought

In one sentenceAsking AI to work through a problem step by step before answering. It often improves accuracy on hard tasks.

What it means

When an AI jumps straight to an answer on a complex problem, it can skip steps. Asking it to reason out loud first ("think step by step") tends to produce better results.

Reasoning models do this automatically behind the scenes.

How to use it

• For decisions: "List the options, the pros and cons of each, then recommend one and explain why."
• For analysis: "First summarize what the data shows, then what it means, then what I should do."

Related terms

Reasoning Model Prompt Engineering