How to Get Truly Creative Ideas from ChatGPT? Here are Three Essential Prompting Tricks

If you've ever experimented with generative AI tools like ChatGPT for creative brainstorming, you've likely encountered a frustrating limitation: ideas that seem innovative initially but quickly lose their originality when compared with others. I've identified three effective prompting strategies that significantly enhance the originality and uniqueness of AI-generated ideas:

1. Chain-of-Thought Prompting

Traditional prompts (e.g., "Create a business model") often yield predictable results. Instead, employ chain-of-thought prompting, explicitly instructing the AI on how to approach a task step-by-step. For example, when seeking innovative solutions for monitoring energy bills, prompt ChatGPT to:

• Explore deeply counterintuitive pain points
• Research existing solutions
• Generate value propositions explicitly different from existing ones

This structured yet open-ended approach helps the AI think beyond standard responses, resulting in suggestions such as behaviorally-driven energy management platforms rather than generic AI-driven systems.

2. Leveraging the 'Crazy Idea' Personality with Projects

ChatGPT Plus allows you to create custom projects, assigning the AI a specific, even eccentric, personality. In my experiment, I created a "Crazy Idea Project," giving ChatGPT the identity of an experimental futurist and bold entrepreneur, specifically geared toward radical innovation.

With this personality, ChatGPT generated unexpected, highly original ideas like an "Energy Tamagotchi" or "Energy Karma Credits"—far removed from conventional thinking.

3. Reasoning-Powered Prompts

With advanced reasoning models (such as GPT o3), the AI can independently apply chain-of-thought logic. By combining this with provocatively creative instructions, such as urging the AI to leverage "non-consensus and counterintuitive insights," you unlock its full creative potential.

This method led ChatGPT to propose highly inventive business models, like a decentralized energy trust for renters: a cooperative overlay on existing utilities, integrating crypto concepts and community-driven dynamics

ChatGPT even suggested taking these ideas further: creating games, cult-like followings, or even a black market "shadow grid" for energy management, demonstrating the extreme creative edge achievable through thoughtful prompting.

Conclusion: Creativity is Within Your Control

The key takeaway is clear: while generative AI like ChatGPT naturally standardizes creativity, you can significantly enhance originality by employing structured, provocative prompting methods and giving the AI distinct creative personas.