9. Ask for the Description You Need
Confident with AI course contents
Part Three: Understand Images and Visual Information
Request an overview, literal facts, text, layout, uncertainty or atmosphere according to purpose.
Estimated time: 10 minutes. Last reviewed: 11 August 2026.
What you need to know
This page stands alone. No previous AI knowledge is required. You need access to an AI assistant only for the activity.
Learning outcome: By the end, you will request two meaningfully different descriptions of the same image.
The lesson
Begin with purpose: identification, navigation, appreciation, publication or checking.
Narrow questions direct attention to the information you need.
Request literal facts before mood or interpretation when accuracy matters.
Useful requests
- Give me a brief overview of the whole image.
- Describe only what is literally visible; do not infer identities or intentions.
- Read every visible word exactly as it appears.
- Describe the layout and positions of the main elements.
- What is unclear, small, obscured or uncertain?
- Describe the atmosphere and identify the details that create that impression.
Separate different jobs
An overview, transcription, layout description and interpretation answer different questions. Asking separately makes omissions and guesses easier to notice.
Worked example
For a book cover, request the background, illustration, title, author and layout. Ask separately for all text verbatim. Then ask what mood the design suggests, treating that answer as interpretation.
Try it
Use one non-sensitive image. Request a brief overview, then a detailed literal account including layout, all visible text and uncertainty.
Checkpoint
The descriptions differ in useful ways because each request states a distinct purpose.
- Previous: 8. Choose the Right Kind of Image Tool
- Course contents
- Next: 10. Judge and Verify an Image Description
About this course
Confident with AI was created by Charli-Jo Tyrer in association with the Technology Association of Visually Impaired People (TAVIP).
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.