System Prompt vs User Prompt: Who Really Controls the AI? | LLM Interview Questions

"The system prompt is just the first message." That's the answer most candidates give, and it misses almost everything that matters. In this video we explain it with one simple picture: a restaurant. The manager's briefing before the shift is the system prompt. Every customer's order is a user prompt. Once you see it this way, you won't forget it. You'll learn: ✅ What a system prompt is, and what it controls ✅ How it differs from a user prompt, side by side ✅ A before/after example that shows its real power ✅ A simple recipe for writing a good one ✅ Why it's a strong hint, not a security lock ✅ The follow-up question interviewers love, and a 60-second answer you can use word for word Interview questions answered: • What is a system prompt, and how does it influence model behavior? • What is a system prompt, and how does it differ from a user prompt? • What is a system prompt? 📌 Three things to remember: 1. Job description vs today's task. 2. A strong hint, not a lock. 3. Rules that matter live in code. ⏱️ Chapters The answer most candidates give The restaurant analogy Inside one request Before and after: same question, different answer What a system prompt controls System vs user prompt How to write a good one Myth: the system prompt is a locked vault The interviewer's follow-up question Junior vs senior answer and quick quiz ▶️ Full LLM Foundations playlist:    • What Is a Token in LLMs? (AI Interview Que...   If this helped, subscribe. A new AI engineering interview question every week. #LLM #AIInterview #SystemPrompt #PromptEngineering #GenerativeAI #AIEngineering #ChatGPT #MachineLearning