Perplexity Few-Shot Prompting Rules for Structured Output

When you need structured output from Perplexity, use few-shot prompting with these rules:

1. PROVIDE EXAMPLES: Always give 1-2 examples of the exact output format you want before asking your question. Example:

Input: "Apple Inc"
Output: {"company": "Apple Inc", "sector": "Technology", "market_cap": "$3.4T", "pe_ratio": 33.2, "source": "Yahoo Finance, Dec 2024"}

Now do the same for: "Microsoft"

2. SPECIFY FORMAT: Explicitly state the output format: JSON, markdown table, CSV, bullet list, or numbered steps. Perplexity follows format instructions well when they are explicit.

3. FIELD REQUIREMENTS: List required fields and their data types. Example: "Include: name (string), price (number in USD), rating (number 1-5), source_url (valid URL)."

4. NULL HANDLING: Instruct how to handle missing data: "If a field cannot be found, use null rather than guessing."

5. ARRAY OUTPUT: For lists of items, specify minimum and maximum count: "Return exactly 10 results" or "Return between 5-15 results."

6. VALIDATION: Add validation rules: "Ensure all URLs are valid and accessible. Ensure all dates are in ISO 8601 format."