Talking to Hapax 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prompting

Hapax is designed by bankers, for bankers to help answer any question you might have in your role. To get the best responses from Hapax, it’s important to ask clear, specific questions. This guide will teach you how to craft effective prompts to get the most out of Hapax, whether you’re new to AI or just getting started with our system. 

1. Be Clear and Specific

Start your request with a clear, specific task. This ensures Hapax knows exactly what you need. Avoid vague or overly broad questions. 

Bad Prompt: 
Tell me about regulations

Good Prompt:
Can you tell me about how Regulation E impacts our bank?

2. Provide Context 

Providing background information allows Hapax to tailor its response to your situation. The more context you provide, the more accurate and relevant the answer will be. 

Bad Prompt: 

How do I handle suspicious activity? 

Good Prompt: 

I am a compliance officer, and what immediate steps should I take if I notice a pattern of large, unexplained cash deposits from one of our customers? 

3. Ask for a Specific Format

Specify the format in which you’d like the information to be presented. This can help make the response easier to digest.

Bad Prompt: Explain credit risk assessment

Good Prompt: Create a list outlining 5 key factors in assessing credit risk for small business loans. Include a brief description and potential red flags for each factor.

4. Use Examples

Whenever possible, provide examples to illustrate what you’re looking for. This can guide Hapax to provide the most useful response. 

Bad Prompt: 

Write an email to my team about a meeting

Good Prompt: 

Write an email to my team scheduling a meeting to discuss our upcoming product launch. Here’s an example of how I usually communicate meeting details:

“Hi team,

I hope you're all doing well. I’d like to schedule a meeting to discuss our Q3 strategy and key milestones. Please come prepared with any updates and insights. Let's meet on [Date] at [Time]. Let me know if this time works for everyone.”

Please use a similar tone but focus on discussing key launch milestones, roles, and responsibilities.

5. Ask for Explanations

If you don’t understand a concept, ask Hapax to explain it in simple terms or a different way. This is helpful for clarifying complex topics. 

Bad Prompt: What is CECL?

Good Prompt: Can you explain the CECL in simple terms? Then provide an example of how it might affect a bank’s loan loss reserves compared to the previous incurred loss models. 

6. Break Down Complex Tasks

For more complex tasks, break them down into manageable steps. This helps ensure each part of your request is handled effectively. 

Bad Prompt: Help me create a risk assessment

Good Prompt: I need to conduct a risk assessment for our new mobile banking app. Please provide guidance in the following steps: 

1. List 5 potential risk categories we should consider
2. For each category, suggest 2 specific risks that might apply to a mobile banking app.

Tips to Improving Your Prompts 

• If the response isn’t quite what you need, ask for clarifications or adjustments. 
  • For example: “Can you explain that last point in more detail?”
• For complex compliance issues, consider breaking your request into multiple prompts and building on each response.

This guide is designed to help you get started with confidence, ensuring your questions to Hapax are clear, contextually relevant, and effective. As you become more comfortable, you'll find that crafting well-structured prompts leads to increasingly valuable and tailored insights. Best of luck as you unlock the full potential of Hapax!