Technical

Prompt

Natural‑language instruction sent to a generative AI.

How the laws define this

Regulators consistently establish that a prompt is a user-provided input, instruction, or query meant to direct, condition, or elicit an output from a generative artificial intelligence model. However, these frameworks diverge significantly regarding the prompt's allowable form and legal focus. Regarding input type, both Decreto 2726/2025 and the Protocolo para el Uso Responsable de Inteligencia Artificial Generativa en el Poder Judicial de Santa Fe explicitly define prompts as natural language, whereas the Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI and the Digitaliseringsstyrelsen Guides for Responsible Use of Generative AI accommodate broader inputs like structured instructions or other signals. Their legal focus also varies: Arkansas HB 1876 ties prompts to content ownership, while Decreto 2726/2025 and the Digitaliseringsstyrelsen Guides highlight compliance risks involving personal data and confidentiality.

Synthesised from the 5 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.

How jurisdictions differ

What is distinctive in each definition, binding law in force first. Showing 4 of the 5 instruments that define this term; all are listed under Definitions below.

Jurisdiction	Instrument	Status	What is distinctive
Arkansas, United States	Arkansas HB 1876 — Generative AI Content Ownership (Act 927)	In Force	Adds that ownership of the resulting content belongs to the prompt provider, subject to input legality and contracts.
Argentina	Decree 2726/2025 – Protocol for the Adoption and Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Public Administration (Province of Santa Fe)	In Force	Adds prohibitions on including personal or sensitive data in prompts when using non-institutional tools and guidance on responsible prompting to mitigate bias and privacy risks.
Denmark	Digitaliseringsstyrelsen Guides for Responsible Use of Generative AI	In Force	Adds notes on prompt scope, sensitivity of data in prompts, and risks from disclosing personal or confidential information to third-party services.
Argentina	Protocol for the Responsible Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Judicial Power of Santa Fe	In Force	Limits prompts to instructions given in natural language that can include specific information and guidelines to direct content generation.

What it triggers

In Arkansas, under Arkansas HB 1876 (Act 927), ownership of resulting content is tied to the person who provided the prompt, subject to legality of the input and contractual arrangements.source
In the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina, under Decree 2726/2025, prompts are subject to rules including prohibitions on including personal or sensitive data when using non-institutional tools.source
In Denmark, the Digitaliseringsstyrelsen Guides for Responsible Use of Generative AI note risks from disclosing personal or confidential information in prompts to third-party services.source

Definitions (5)

A Prompt is defined as the natural language instruction, query or input provided to a generative AI system to elicit a response or generate content; prompts are subject to rules (e.g., prohibitions on including personal/sensitive data when using non‑institutional tools) and to guidance on responsible prompting to mitigate bias and privacy risks.

Decreto 2726/2025 – Protocolo para la Adopción y Uso de Tecnologías de Inteligencia Artificial Generativa en la Administración Pública (Provincia de Santa Fe)Definition 1 of 5

An input, instruction, or query that a human user provides to a generative AI system to elicit a specific output; ownership of resulting content is tied to the person who provided the prompt, subject to legality of the input and contractual arrangements.

Arkansas HB 1876 — Generative AI Content Ownership (Act 927)Definition 2 of 5

The text or other input provided by a user to a generative AI system that directs the model to produce an output; the guides note prompt scope, sensitivity of data contained in prompts, and risks from disclosing personal or confidential information to third-party services.

Digitaliseringsstyrelsen Guides for Responsible Use of Generative AI (Guides til ansvarlig anvendelse af generativ kunstig intelligens)Definition 3 of 5

The input provided by a user to a generative AI model (which may be natural language, structured instructions, or other signals) used to guide or condition the model's generated output.

Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AIDefinition 4 of 5

An instruction or set of instructions given in natural language to an IAG model to generate a response, which can include specific information and guidelines to direct the desired content generation.

Protocolo para el Uso Responsable de Inteligencia Artificial Generativa en el Poder Judicial de Santa FeDefinition 5 of 5

Not to be confused with

user prompts/inputs

User prompts/inputs refer to data and queries provided to GAI systems, while prompt specifically means the natural-language instruction or input to elicit output.

Prompt/input data

Prompt/input data means data provided by users during service use, whereas prompt focuses on the instruction or query sent to generate content.

Questions and answers

Who owns AI-generated content based on my prompt?

Under Arkansas HB 1876 (Act 927), ownership of content generated by generative AI is tied to the person who provided the prompt, subject to the legality of the input and any contractual arrangements.

What rules apply to prompts in public administration?

In the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina, Decree 2726/2025 subjects prompts to rules such as prohibitions on including personal or sensitive data when using non-institutional tools and guidance on responsible prompting.

What risks are associated with data in prompts?

The Digitaliseringsstyrelsen Guides note risks from disclosing personal or confidential information contained in prompts to third-party services. They also address prompt scope and data sensitivity.