Tips for Writing Prompts in Ask NLPatent

Overview

Ask NLPatent accepts natural-language questions about individual patents to help extract meaningful insights quickly. Like any AI tool, the quality of the output depends heavily on how the question is framed — a well-structured prompt can be the difference between a precise, actionable answer and a vague wall of text.

Questions can be asked on a single patent via the Ask NLPatent tab, or across multiple results at once using Bulk Ask. For a full walkthrough of how to access and navigate Ask NLPatent, see our Accessing Ask NLPatent Article.

If you’d just like to look at some recommend prompts, see our Prompt Library Article.

Things to Know First

Ask NLPatent has a few constraints worth understanding before writing prompts:

One patent at a time. Answers are always in reference to a single patent — even in Bulk Ask, where the same question runs against each patent individually. Prompts should always be phrased with a single patent in mind: "Does this patent describe..." rather than "Which of these patents describe..."
Specification text only. Answers are drawn from the English specification text and bibliographic data. Figures are interpreted only through their written descriptions — images are not processed directly.
Independent of search queries. The original search query has no influence on responses. Ask NLPatent reads each patent on its own terms.
Not a scoring engine. Asking Ask NLPatent to rate or rank patents numerically will produce unreliable results as large language models aren't designed for precise numerical outputs.

Writing Effective Prompts

A reliable way to structure any prompt is: task first, output instructions second.

Task	Does this patent disclose Feature X?
Output instructions	Answer Yes or No and provide one supporting passage.
Full prompt	Does this patent disclose Feature X? Answer Yes or No and provide one supporting passage.

Task

Does this patent disclose Feature X?

Output

instructions

Answer Yes or No and provide one supporting passage.

Full prompt

Does this patent disclose Feature X? Answer Yes or No and provide one supporting passage.

This applies to all of the steps below.

1. Be specific

Vague prompts produce vague answers. Defining exactly what to look for leads to more precise, actionable responses.

Instead of...	Try...
"Summarize this patent"	"Summarize the independent claims of this patent in 3–5 sentences"
"Is this relevant?"	"Does this patent disclose a method for detecting cardiac arrhythmias using an implantable device?"

2. Break complex questions into numbered parts

When checking multiple features or concepts, listing them separately improves accuracy and makes outputs easier to review.

Instead of:

"Does this patent describe a system for detecting cardiac arrhythmias and delivering drug therapy while also including monitoring components, signal processing, and safety features, and explain how all of these work together?"

Try:

"Does this patent describe the following?

Detection of cardiac arrhythmias
Drug delivery triggered by detection
Signal processing techniques

For each item, indicate Yes or No."

3. Control the output

Defining the format and level of detail upfront keeps responses focused and easy to scan. These two things are worth setting separately.

Format:

Use "table" for comparisons or multi-feature checks — note: avoid the word "chart" as it may generate a flowchart instead
Use bullet points for summaries
Use Yes/No for quick filtering

Depth:

Instead of...	Try...
"Does this patent address battery efficiency?"	"Does this patent address battery efficiency? Answer Yes or No with one short reason."

Putting it together:

"Does this patent describe the following?

Detection of cardiac arrhythmias
Drug delivery triggered by detection
Signal processing techniques

For each item: indicate Yes or No and provide the relevant passage. Present results in a table."

4. Provide context where it helps

Ask NLPatent won't infer the purpose of a question thus stating it directly leads to more targeted answers.

Instead of:

"Do the method claims cover these process steps?"

Try:

"For FTO purposes, do the method claims of this patent cover the following process steps?

Step A
Step B
Step C

For each, indicate Yes or No with one supporting passage.

5. Start simple, then refine

A perfect prompt isn't required on the first attempt. If a response comes back too vague, too long, or misses the point, small adjustments to phrasing, format, or specificity usually correct it quickly.

Initial	Refined
"What are the key novel features of this patent?"	"What are the key novel features of this patent? Return as short bullet points, focusing only on the claims."

If the output still isn't right: check whether the question is too broad, whether multiple concepts are bundled together, or whether a format instruction is missing. These are the most common causes of unhelpful responses.

Tips

Patents can be compared by referencing a specific number directly in the prompt — e.g., "What elements of US7917208B2 read on this patent?"
Ask NLPatent is an assistive tool. Outputs are a starting point for analysis, not a substitute for professional patent attorney advice.