Structured output
Also known as: JSON output, structured data
Structured output is an AI response returned in a defined format such as a table, bulleted list, or JSON, rather than free-flowing paragraphs.
In more detail
By default AI answers in prose. When you need to paste results into a spreadsheet, feed them into another tool, or compare items side by side, ask for a specific structure: 'return a table with columns X, Y, Z' or 'return JSON with these fields'. Being explicit about the shape — and giving one small example — makes the output far more consistent and machine-usable.
Example
"Extract the name, email, and company from this text and return them as a JSON object with keys name, email, company." turns messy text into data you can drop straight into another system.
Why it matters
Structured output is what turns AI from a writing aid into a data tool — extracting, organizing, and formatting information you can act on.
Prompts that use this
Try a prompt for yourself
Open any prompt and run it in the IterPrompt playground.