# 9. Ask for the Description You Need

> Request an overview, literal facts, text, layout, uncertainty or atmosphere according to purpose.

[Confident with AI course contents](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/)

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](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/modules/08-choose-an-image-tool/)
- [Course contents](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/)
- Next: [10. Judge and Verify an Image Description](https://charli.info/training/confident-with-ai/modules/10-check-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](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).