Why Your AI Outputs Fail Without Context
- Patrick Law
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
AI is fast, but often wrong. If you're feeding ChatGPT well-worded prompts and still getting vague or generic results, you’re not alone. What you might be missing isn't the question—it's the context.
The Strength of Prompt Engineering Prompt engineering means giving your AI tool the clearest, most specific instruction you can. It’s like saying: "Write a control narrative for a centrifugal pump with 20 m³/h flow rate and 5 bar discharge pressure."
Done right, this technique gets you fast, structured outputs. It's ideal for:
Drafting documents quickly
Generating formulas or summaries
Producing outputs from fixed parameters
But when your process includes multiple variables, or the output depends on a project-specific context—prompt engineering alone falls short.
Where Prompt Engineering Fails It assumes the model knows your system. It doesn’t. Your drawing? Your specs? Your safety limits? None of that is included unless you give it explicitly. That’s why prompt-only setups often produce:
Generic or incorrect assumptions
Misinterpreted variables
Out-of-context outputs
The Case for Context Engineering Now imagine this: you feed the AI your P&ID, the project scope, and your control loop description. Then you prompt: "Write a control narrative for this pump."
That’s context engineering. You provide the environment around the prompt so the AI can operate like it's truly part of your team.
It unlocks:
Project-specific outputs
Reduced hallucinations
Faster iteration cycles
But It Comes With Setup You’ll need the ability to:
Upload and embed documents
Use structured retrieval tools like LangChain or OpenAI Assistants
Validate outputs with human checks (which we always do at Singularity)
Singularity’s Application We combine both techniques:
Use prompt engineering for quick drafts.
Use context engineering when accuracy and specificity matter.
In either case, every deliverable is reviewed by a human.
Tired of inaccurate AI outputs? Maybe it's not your prompt—it's your missing context. For faster, more accurate engineering workflows, explore context engineering with us.
Advance your AI skills with our Udemy course: https://www.udemy.com/course/singularity-ai-for-engineers/?referralCode=75D71AF4C0EADB8975FF
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