People complain that AI gives them bad output. Usually the prompt is "make this better" or "fix this code." That's not a prompt. That's a vibe.

Getting good output from an AI is the same skill as writing a good ticket. You need to define the problem clearly. You need to state the constraints. You need to show what success looks like. "Refactor this function so it's testable without mocking the database, preserving the existing behavior" gets you useful code. "Make this cleaner" gets you a coin flip.

The developers who are best at prompting are the ones who were already best at problem definition. The AI just made that skill more visible, and more valuable.

One quick tip: try "Critique this: [your idea]. How should I ask that?" You'll be surprised how much better the rephrased version works.