SECAI Core · phase 5 of 15
Prompt template
The predefined structures used to format user queries or system instructions before they are processed by an AI model
The Explain card
- Plain English
- A prompt template is a predefined structure that formats user queries or system instructions before they reach the model, with placeholders filled in at runtime.
- Example
- A customer service app uses the template "You are a support agent for {company}. Answer only about {product}. Customer message: {input}". Every request follows the same shape. If {input} is dropped in without escaping or boundaries, a user can write text that reads like part of the instructions.
- Why it matters
- Templates are where untrusted data meets trusted instructions. Defenders review them like they review string concatenation in SQL: clear separation prevents injection.
- Hook
- A prompt template is a fill-in-the-blanks form, and the blanks are where attackers write.
Where it sits in the deck
Phase 5: Interacting with Models: Prompting, APIs, and Retrieval
With a working model and clean data, learn the interaction layer — how users and systems communicate instructions and retrieve grounded answers.
