Story
When I want to make something but don't know how to ask for it, I want to start from a finished example and change only my details, so I get a good result without learning to write prompts.
Grace, who runs a small bakery in Accra, making a flyer on her tablet before the Saturday market.
- 01 Setting
Grace wants a flyer for a Saturday offer. She opens the design helper.
- 02 Trigger
She taps Flyers and sees 2 finished ones.
- 03 Without it
A blank box. She types "make a flyer for my bakery" and gets "Bakery Sale!" with no name, offer or date.
- 04 With it
She taps Use this. The ask behind the example opens with 3 blue blanks: shop, deal, day.
- 05 Outcome
She fills the blanks and gets a flyer with her shop, her offer and her date.
Live demo
This demo follows a script, so it plays the same every time - there is no real AI behind it. Change a setting to see the same moment play out differently.
What happens, step by step
| State | The person sees | The AI is | When | Screen reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finished results, each with the short ask that made it. | Idle. | on open | - |
| 2 | Chips filter by task: Flyers, Menus, Posts. | Idle. | on tap | - |
| 3 | The card lifts. Use this is the 1 action. | Idle. | - | - |
| 4 | The example's ask goes into the box, with its details as blanks to fill. | Idle. | on tap | “Example ask added to the box” |
| 5 | Each blank turns into her words. Make it lights up when all are filled. | Idle. | - | - |
| 6 | "Making your flyer", with a note of which example it came from. | Works. | - | “Making your flyer” |
| 7 | The same layout as the example, with only her details. | Idle. | when done | “Flyer ready” |
On each device
- phone
- 2 small cards per row. Filter chips scroll sideways. Use this opens the ask full width, above the keyboard.
- tablet
- 2 or 3 cards per row. The ask opens at the bottom, with the example still visible.
- desktop
- 3 or 4 cards per row with search. Hover shows the full ask. Use this opens it beside the gallery.
When to use it
- The result is visual or has a set shape - flyers, menus, slides, apps, reports.
- People don't know what a good ask looks like for this tool.
- Seeing the result first helps people choose faster than reading a description.
- Most asks are short questions - a few example asks are enough. Use Suggested prompts instead.
- Every ask needs the same few fields - give people a form. Use Structured prompt instead.
- People need to see the limits first, not examples. Use Capability disclosure instead.
The parts of the pattern
- AFinished resultWhat people will get. They pick by look, not by words.
- BThe ask behind itThe short ask that made it, with its details as blanks. It teaches how to ask.
- CUse thisOpens the ask with blanks to fill. It does not copy the example's details.
- DTask filtersChips by task, in people's words: Flyers, Menus, Posts.
Do and Avoid
Fresh Bread Saturday
Flyer for shop, offer deal, on day
Fill the blue blanks, then make it.
Fresh Bread Saturday
Mama Grace’s Bakery · Sat 19 Apr
Sunrise Café · sunrisecafe.com
Fresh Bread Saturday
Flyer for [shop], offer [deal], on [day]
Use this
Fresh Bread Saturday
♥ 2.4k · Featured
Use this
Writing and accessibility
- Name examples by what they are for: "Fresh Bread Saturday", not "Template 12".
- Write the ask on each card in plain words, with the parts to change as blanks.
- Name the blanks by what goes in them: "shop", "deal", "day".
- Say where a result came from: "From the example Fresh Bread Saturday".
- Each card is 1 list item with a heading (its title) and 1 button named "Use this: Fresh Bread Saturday".
- Thumbnails have alt text (the words a screen reader reads for an image) that describes the result, not "template image".
- Blanks in the ask are real form fields with labels, so Tab moves from 1 to the next.
- Filter chips are toggle buttons that tell screen readers whether they are on (with aria-pressed). The result count is announced without interrupting.
Seen in real products
- ClaudeWeb and mobile · Nov 2026An Inspiration tab in the artifacts space shows curated artifacts by category, such as "Learn something". Customize starts a new chat with the artifact's content to change.Claude Help: Discovering, publishing, customizing and sharing artifacts ↗
- Microsoft 365 CopilotCopilot and Copilot Chat · Oct 2026Prompt Gallery holds Microsoft prompts, prompts people save, and prompts shared with their team. Each prompt comes with tips to make it your own.Microsoft Learn: Copilot Prompt Gallery ↗
- Gemini GemsWeb · Sep 2024Premade Gems such as Brainstormer and Writing editor sit in the side panel. People can copy some of them and rewrite the instructions.Google blog: 5 tips on getting started with Gems (5 Sep 2024) ↗
Each example comes from the product’s help pages, release notes or teardowns, with the month it was checked. Products change every month - tell us when 1 is out of date.
Check yourself
Seen this pattern done better, or a product that changed? Press Suggest next to any heading, or tell us about the whole page.