I used the 'Owl' prompt to make ChatGPT slow down — and it instantly gave me smarter answers
Amanda Caswell developed an 'owl' prompt to encourage ChatGPT to respond more slowly and thoughtfully, leading to deeper and more analytical answers. By asking the AI to 'think like an owl,' it shifts from fast, surface-level responses to more careful, multi-perspective analysis. The technique has proven especially effective with recent updates to ChatGPT-5.5, reducing hallucinations and 'people-pleasing' tendencies in responses.
- ▪The 'owl' prompt instructs ChatGPT to 'think like an owl — slow, observant and analytical' to improve response quality.
- ▪Using the prompt leads ChatGPT to break down problems more carefully, consider multiple perspectives, and identify overlooked factors.
- ▪Amanda Caswell has been testing the prompt for months and found it increasingly effective with OpenAI's latest model updates.
- ▪In a real-life test, the 'owl' prompt produced a more nuanced response about family logistics than the standard query.
- ▪The prompt helps reduce AI hallucinations and minimizes tendencies for ChatGPT to prioritize agreeable over accurate answers.
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AI I used the 'Owl' prompt to make ChatGPT slow down — and it instantly gave me smarter answers Features By Amanda Caswell published 1 May 2026 This prompt helps AI slow down, spot blind spots and give more thoughtful answers When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: ChatGPT AI generated image) Copy link Facebook X Reddit Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter I've been testing ChatGPT-5.5 a lot recently. I've tested it against Claude Opus 4.7 and just recently put it head-to-head against Gemini 3.1 Pro.
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