The short answer
Share an example when the desired voice, structure, or level of detail would be hard to describe clearly in words. Say which parts of the example AI should follow and which parts are only background. Use an approved example, not a draft with errors or claims you have not checked. Review the new result against the actual brief, because an example can guide the pattern without making the facts correct.
A closer look
An example is useful when you want AI to see a particular pattern: how a section is organized, how direct the language is, or what a finished deliverable looks like. One good example can save a long explanation, but it can also copy the wrong thing. Tell AI whether the example governs structure, tone, formatting, or something else, and identify any parts it must not reuse.
Do not rely on an example to establish facts for a new project. Provide the current source material separately and say which source controls each part of the work. OpenAI's prompt engineering guidance describes examples as a way to steer a model's output pattern; in Smithworks work, the example still needs human review against the task's sources and goal.
