What’s the best way to prompt for structured data extraction?
Provide a strict JSON schema and a tiny example showing edge cases. Tell the model to output only valid JSON and what to do when a field is missing (e.g., null). Add normalization rules—dates in ISO, currencies in cents, booleans as true/false. For noisy documents, run a two-step flow: segment the text first, then extract from the segment. Validate with a parser and auto-retry if parsing fails.
In practice
Shorter schemas with clear field descriptions outperform sprawling ones with vague labels.
Where to start
- [01]Write a minimal JSON schema with field notes.
- [02]Create 5 tricky examples with edge cases.
- [03]Add a validation step that rejects non-parsable JSON.
- [04]Track field-level accuracy and fix mislabeled fields.
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