Editorial
Prompt engineering became the most highlighted job after the rise of AI in the workplace. The World Economic Forum even named it the No. 1 job of the future. But as LLMs have evolved at an unprecedented speed, it has taken less than a year for many to believe that GenAI can replace the need for prompt engineers.
The reasoning behind this belief has been driven by recent tests that have shown that LLMs can create original prompts and test them more quickly and effectively than any human could manage. As a result, it makes sense to question whether the importance of prompt engineering will fall just as quickly as it rose in prominence. But before any company starts to reorganize its staff and limit the number of prompt engineers, they should take the time to consider how prompt engineering will need to evolve as a vital mechanism within GenAI deployments.
The Knee-Jerk Mistake
Some companies might see the initial data and have a knee-jerk reaction. Prompt engineers have been difficult to recruit and retain. The idea that replacing the position technology that can develop and test prompts may be very enticing for companies as a cost-saving opportunity. Plus, there could be an argument made that there is an additional benefit of increasing efficiency.
This reaction will prove to be a regrettable mistake. Prompt engineers will be vital to the long-term success of initiatives that are fueled by GenAI, especially as the technology progresses to fill many of the tasks that were initially core responsibilities of prompt engineers. Instead of making personnel changes, the industry should redefine the prompt engineering role.
The Initial Definition Was Wrong
When the position of prompt engineering was created, there was an initial flaw. It was not defined correctly. Even the title “engineering” was misleading as the skill set of engineering itself was not inherently necessary for the role. Typically, the best prompt engineers had significant industry expertise and some knowledge of coding. Hardly the requirement necessary for an advanced degree in engineering.
But the title was not the biggest error in defining the position. The job role of the prompt engineers has been largely viewed as very one-dimensional. Essentially, it was often boiled down to creating, testing and revising prompts. It should not be shocking that those tactical tasks could be replaced by AI. The problem is that companies should view the role as a much larger and holistic management of the prompt engineering process. Without having a human involved in managing this process, a company can be led to create unwanted circumstances.
The Danger of Letting the System Take Over the Thinking
LLMs will indeed be able to anticipate, create and test new prompts faster and more efficiently than possible for a human. But left unchecked, it is also easier for LLMs to quickly develop and deploy many prompts based on the wrong information.
There are already numerous instances of GenAI tools leveraging incorrect data and misunderstanding nuances within the process. As a result, the technology will quickly leverage the tainted data to provide incorrect results within a solution. It is a given that companies need to feed clean and correct data into LLMs, but the reality has proven that bad or incorrect data will always find its way into a system. This can easily create more problems for a company than the problems that the technology solves. Prompt engineers must be involved in reviewing results created by the technology to ensure the quality before it is deployed. But ensuring the technology is using correct data is just the tip of the iceberg. Quality control by a prompt engineer is even more important in situations where things are not so black and white.
The Right Answer is Not Always the Correct Answer
Many companies are already leveraging GenAI for customer support. This includes leveraging the technology in chatbots, developing knowledge base pages and other elements. These uses for the technology can serve as a strong example of the need for a human touch. In many of these instances the right answer is not the correct one and providing a wrong answer can have significant implications.
In a situation where an LLM leverages incorrect data for a customer inquiry due to an error, it can have significant ramifications for a company before it rises to the point of being flagged as a problem. This can result in a public relations or legal issue for the company.
But even providing the right answer is not always the best way to respond to customers. Prompt engineers must be tasked with ensuring that responses to prompts are correct and are delivered in the best way to enhance customer experience. That means having an understanding of the emotional state of the customer and the potential nuances that may be necessary to address a customer in delivering the information in order to feel heard, answered and, at the very least, not offended.
This need will be necessary to support GenAI technologies in any business area in which emotional intelligence is important. This includes customer support, sales, marketing, human resources and many others. As a result, the prompt engineer will be an essential layer that is necessary to support a successful GenAI deployment.
Webinar
Sep
25
CMS Briefing: A Live Look at What’s Next in AI-Driven Platforms
Learn how leading organizations are using AI‑driven tools to publish faster, personalize smarter and stay secure.
Register
Webinar
Oct
15
Agentic AI Playbook Real-World Customer Service Use Cases You Can Deploy Now
Boost self-service by 30% and slash call volume by 63% with agentic AI.
Register
Webinar
On demand
Ready or Not: How Data-First Organizations Are Unlocking Agentforce Potential
Learn how to cut through the noise, activate Agentforce and build a Salesforce AI strategy that actually delivers.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
AI in Customer Service: Faster Resolutions, Happier Customers
Don’t let rising demand burn out your team. See how to build a smarter, more resilient support org.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
From Hype to High-Impact CX Strategies That Actually Scale
Turn buzzworthy AI and outsourcing trends into measurable CX wins with fresh 2025 data.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Insights to Action Rethinking the Contact Center for Real Business Impact
Join our exclusive webinar to hear CX executives share their innovative strategies for transforming service delivery.
Watch Now
Redefining the Role of Prompt Engineers
As I stated above, the role started with an incorrect job definition. We must start by redefining the role and understanding the requirements for being a successful prompt engineer beyond the tactical elements. The days of prompt engineers being tasked with writing hundreds of queries every day will most likely be behind us in the very near future.
The core elements of prompt engineering in the future will consist of serving as a quality control layer that can develop a strategy for prompt engineering and identify potential issues in the early stages before they cause any problems on a larger scale. In this regard, most of the same skills that already serve as the requirements for prompt engineers will still be necessary. However, the role itself will need to be viewed as a strategic role rather than a tactical one.
The Future of Prompt Engineering
The need for employing talented prompt engineers within an organization will only become more important in the future. As companies continue to invest in GenAI technologies, the value of this role will only increase as it will be necessary to have a strong quality control layer for deployments of the technology across all functions of companies. As CIOs and other leaders plan for the future of their workforce, it is worthwhile to consider the ways that prompt engineers can be trained within their organization in preparation for more GenAI technologies to be deployed over the coming years.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.
