Getting started

Choose and write your first prompts

Updated Oct 11, 2026 2 min read All plans

Doily is opening soon. These articles describe how the product works at launch.

Quick answer

Choose prompts a real customer would type into an AI engine, and write them at state level with the state included. When a pool is set to a city, county, ZIP, or DMA, Doily adds that location automatically when it runs the check. Start with a handful of buying, comparison, and how-to questions.

Before you start

  • A list of the products or services you want to be recommended for
  • The state or states where you do business

Steps

  1. List the questions customers ask

    Think about three kinds of questions: buying questions such as who to hire, comparison questions such as which option is better, and how-to questions that lead to your service.

  2. Write each prompt in full

    Write prompts the way a customer in your state would ask, and include the state. For example: Who is the best roofing contractor in Oregon?

  3. Let Doily add the local detail

    For pools set to a city, county, ZIP or DMA, Doily adds that location automatically when it runs the check. It also sets the engine's own location setting where one exists.

  4. Review the prompt that was sent

    Doily stores your prompt exactly as you wrote it. In Responses, the prompt that was actually sent appears under yours when it differs.

  5. Prune after the first results

    Remove prompts nobody would really ask, and keep the ones where the answer changes what you would do.

Tips

  • Do not type the city yourself on a pool set to a city. Doily adds it, and repeating it can change the question.
  • Track a mix of prompts with and without your brand name. The first shows whether engines recommend you, the second shows what they say about you.
  • The prompt library lists sample prompts by industry that you can copy as a starting point.

Troubleshooting

Why does the sent prompt differ from the one I wrote?

The pool has a city, county, ZIP, or DMA set, so Doily added that location before the check. Your stored prompt does not change.

How many prompts should I start with?

Free tracks 3 prompts. Paid plans track more, so use the limit to choose your most important questions first.

Do all engines get the same prompt?

Yes. The same prompt is checked on each engine in your plan, and each result carries a label showing how the engine was checked.

Still stuck? Email [email protected] and a person will help.

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