What is Output format?
Also called: structured output · response format
The output format is the shape you ask for — table, numbered steps, JSON, three variants, 120 words — and the cheapest instruction that most improves usability.
Left alone, a model writes prose with bold headings. Telling it the format changes how the answer is organised and how you can use it: a table you can scan, steps you can follow, JSON your code can parse, a length that fits the slide.
For software, structured formats (JSON with a schema, or a fixed markdown template) make the output reliable enough to automate. For humans, "table with these columns" or "five bullets, one sentence each" is usually enough.
Output as a markdown table with columns: option · cost · risk · my next step. Then one line: the option you'd choose and why.
- Name the structure, the length, and what to leave out.
- For JSON, give the exact keys and one filled example.
- Ask for the final answer separately from any reasoning.
Use it right now
Ask our brain anything on the homepage — it remembers the whole conversation — or write a brief in the Studio and see the prompt it compiles to.