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Prompt repository Product

Read a cohort retention table and explain what changed

You have a retention table by signup month and need to know whether newer customers stay longer or shorter than older ones, and where to look next.

Registry no.
PRD-028
Collection
Product
Laid out for
Any chat model
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
5
Added

ProductAny chat

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when You have a retention table by signup month and need to know whether newer customers stay longer or shorter than older ones, and where to look next.

  • {{audience}}
  • {{retention_definition}}
  • {{cohort_table}}
  • {{changes}}
  • {{min_cohort_size}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Read the cohort retention table below and explain what it shows, for {{audience}}, so they can see whether retention is improving and where to look next. Retention here means: {{retention_definition}}.

Cohort table (cohorts by signup period in rows, periods since signup in columns, as counts or percentages):
"""
{{cohort_table}}
"""

Changes during the period that could affect retention (launches, pricing changes, onboarding changes, campaigns, seasonal patterns), with dates:
"""
{{changes}}
"""

Use these headings:
1. The headline: two sentences on whether newer cohorts retain better, worse or the same as older ones at the same age.
2. Comparison at matching ages: a small table comparing cohorts at the same month since signup, such as month 1, month 3 and month 6, using only cohorts that have reached that age.
3. Where the drop happens: the period with the largest loss for most cohorts.
4. Changes that line up: cohorts whose retention shifts around a date in the changes list, stated as a timing match, not a proven cause.
5. Cautions: small cohorts, incomplete recent periods, or changes in how retention was counted.
6. Next questions: up to 4, each with the data that would answer it, such as splitting a cohort by plan or acquisition channel.

Keep it under 500 words.

For example, the form of a comparison sentence: "At month 3, the March cohort kept 41% of accounts against 35% for January, the first cohort after the onboarding change." This shows the form only; use the real figures.

A good readout is one that compares cohorts only at the same age, because a cohort that signed up recently has had less time to leave, so its current rate will look better than an older cohort's. Calculate from the table and show your working for each figure you derive. Do not compare a recent cohort's incomplete latest period with complete periods of older cohorts, and do not treat a cohort under {{min_cohort_size}} customers as a trend. Do not bring in outside retention benchmarks. If the table mixes counts and percentages, or the cohort sizes are not given, say what you could not calculate rather than estimating it.

Variables

{{audience}}
Who will read it, for example "the growth team and the head of product".
{{retention_definition}}
What counts as retained, for example "an account with at least one active user in the month".
{{cohort_table}}
The cohort table from your analytics tool or spreadsheet, with cohort sizes if you have them.
{{changes}}
Launches, pricing changes, onboarding changes and campaigns in the period, each with its date. Write "none known" if there were none.
{{min_cohort_size}}
The smallest cohort worth reading as a trend, for example 50.

Why it works

  • What good looks like. Cohorts are compared only at the same age since signup, which keeps a young cohort from looking better just because it has had less time to leave.
  • What to avoid. Incomplete recent periods, tiny cohorts and outside benchmarks are kept out of the conclusions.
  • If unsure. Mixed counts and percentages or missing cohort sizes are reported as what could not be calculated, never estimated.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in variables and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/cohort-retention-readout

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "cohort-retention-readout"}, or just ask for it by name.