Prompt engineering is dead (this is what you need in 2026)
If AI is getting smarter every day, why are people still getting crap out of it?
AI is getting smarter every single day.
The models improve.
The benchmarks rise.
The demos of the new releases look impressive.
And yet, most people still complain that what they get out of AI feels generic, mechanical, or painfully off. As if it’s made of plastic.
Like something written about them, not by them.
The usual explanation is: “I just need a better prompt.”
So people go on a quest.
They collect prompts.
They bookmark threads.
They copy-paste increasingly complex instructions, hoping that one magical combination of words will finally unlock “human-like output.”
It rarely does.
Because it’s not about prompt engineering.
Not anymore…
Prompt engineering is a dead (this is what you need now)
Imagine you just hired a brilliant assistant. Sharp. Fast. Highly capable.
And on day one, you say:
“Act as an assistant to an online writer who writes about…”
That’s not professional.
That’s awkward.
And a little insulting.
No human works well like that.
No assistant delivers their best work when they’re treated like a vending machine where you punch in the right code and hope for the right snack.
AI isn’t different.
It needs context. And that’s where most people fail.
The real problem isn’t prompting, it’s context.
AI isn’t confused because your prompt isn’t clear enough.
It’s confused because it doesn’t know you.
Your voice.
Your standards.
Your patterns.
Your taste.
Your “this feels off” instinct.
Most people treat AI like a one-night stand: show up, demand performance, disappear.
Then they’re shocked the result feels empty.
Context engineering: the skill nobody is teaching (yet)
Prompt engineering assumes one-shot brilliance.
Context engineering assumes long-term collaboration.
The goal isn’t to trick the model into sounding human.
The goal is to remove ambiguity, so that it stops filling the gaps with made-up stuff (a.k.a. hallucinations).
For that you need a proper structure of your context.
I follow three simple rules to make that happen, and they work every single time.
Rule #1: cut the salami into pieces
Image created with Midjourney
One task.
One iteration.
That’s it.
People overload AI the same way they overload junior hires:
“Write this, analyze that, rewrite this in my voice, make it viral, also add strategy.”
Humans fail at that too.
When I want quality, I give AI a single, well-defined task and let it do only that.
No multitasking.
If I want it to do complex tasks, then break them into simple pieces.
Rule #2: show, don’t tell
Telling AI what you want is weak.
Showing it what “good” looks like is waay much better.
Examples beat explanations every time.
If you want a certain tone, show it.
If you want a certain structure, show it.
If you want a certain level of sharpness, show it.
And your data needs to be clean and structured well. That’s what context engineering is.
Messy examples create messy outputs.
Structured input creates predictable quality.
This is where most people sabotage themselves without realizing it.
Rule #3: SISO (shitty input → shitty output)
AI hallucinates because you left too much room for interpretation.
Ambiguity is the enemy.
That’s when context engineering makes a big difference.
So I over-communicate context:
What this is, but also what this is not.
What to prioritise and optimize for, but also what to avoid.
What matters more than everything else.
The less guessing required, the more “human” the output feels.
How this looks in practice
Take Substack Notes.
I didn’t ask ChatGPT to “write viral Notes.”
I built a custom GPT with one clear responsibility: write Notes.
Nothing else.
Then I fed it 500+ examples of viral Notes from smaller creators, not famous accounts, not algorithmic outliers (to remove the false positives)
That’s “show, don’t tell” in practice.
Now, when I write a Note, my only job is to provide context:
What I’m reacting to.
What the goal is.
What audience I’m speaking to.
What NOT to do.
No clever prompting.
No fancy tricks.
Just clean context.
The result?
High-engagement Notes that go viral and bring subscribers — consistently.
I only edit to check facts and numbers.
Why complex prompts fail
Complex prompts feel productive.
They give the illusion of control.
The more rules you stack, the more room for misinterpretation.
The more roles you assign, the less grounded the output becomes.
AI doesn’t need you to sound smart.
It needs you to be clear.
And clarity lives in context, not complexity.
How I go next level (what you need in 2026)
AI will keep getting smarter.
That part is inevitable.
What will separate people isn’t access to better models — it’s the ability to engineer context instead of chasing perfect prompts.
How I do it?
I stack AIs and data:
I use one AI (Cursor + different models) to analyze my data and extract data-driven insights
I use another AI (Claude) to write a system prompt for a custom GPT
I use a third AI (ChatGPT) to ingest this prompt and start generating content
Those who treat AI like a collaborator will outperform those who treat it like a magic box.
If you try this method, let me know how it works for you.
Once you feel the difference, you won’t go back.
Yana
P.S. I’m publishing my exact workflows inside the QUEST LABS.
👉 Start a discussion in the Unplugged community! Get help or simply introduce yourself and connect with like-minded members, and create meaningful connections.
Kickstart Your Substack Growth:
Get a FREE 10-Day Substack crash course to grow your first 1000 subscribers
Join my free Masterclass on how to start making consistent $5,000/month with AI
Join the One and Only Substack Quest to build a high-converting Substack
Work with me to get your Substack up and growing
Save Tons of Time! Use My Custom GPTs:
The Title Generator that gives me headlines that stop the scroll
The Notes Writer that writes Viral Notes, bringing me hundreds of subs
The Writer Pro that turns my Notes into >90% human drafts (here’s the free version).
Or get the bundle with all the tools, now at a very special price ;)
Become an Affiliate:
Earn 30% from each sale. Apply here (I approve everyone).
My Newsletters:
FREE Daily BiTES: A daily mail with just 3 bullets from the most helpful things I read about writing and making money online with AI
Have a GUT Time: A weekly short but powerful technique to build a growth mindset and achieve anything you want
Unplugged: The place to be if you want to grow an AI-powered paid newsletter and create content that sells itself.
Become a sponsor:
Reach thousands of engaged buyers.
I love this show, don't-tell method. So simple, but incredibly helpful!!
With pleasure, I am present at your writing, happy new year, may it always be the best.