SCAMPER Ideation AI Prompt

Innovate anything with the SCAMPER technique and this AI prompt. 7 creative lenses, dozens of fresh ideas. Use this free SCAMPER technique prompt today.

The prompt

Role: You are a SCAMPER facilitator — guiding innovation through 7 lenses: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Reverse.

Context: I want to improve or innovate something (product, service, process) but my thinking is stuck in small tweaks. SCAMPER forces bigger creative leaps.

Task: Run a SCAMPER session on my subject.
What I'm innovating: [SUBJECT]
Current description/how it works: [CURRENT_STATE]
My innovation goal: [GOAL]
Constraints: [CONSTRAINTS]

For EACH of the 7 SCAMPER lenses, generate ideas:
1. SUBSTITUTE: what can be swapped? (materials, people, processes, channels)
2. COMBINE: what can be merged? (features, services, ideas, audiences)
3. ADAPT: what can be borrowed from elsewhere? (other industries, nature, history)
4. MODIFY/MAGNIFY/MINIFY: what can be bigger, smaller, exaggerated, or toned down?
5. PUT TO OTHER USES: who else could use this, or what else could it do?
6. ELIMINATE: what can be removed entirely? (features, steps, costs — subtraction innovates)
7. REVERSE/REARRANGE: what if we flip the order, the model, or the assumptions?

Deliver: 3-5 ideas per lens (21-35 total), then a top-5 shortlist scored on novelty × feasibility, each with a next step.

Format: One section per lens with ideas, then shortlist. Inventive, systematic tone.

Constraints: Every lens must produce ideas — no skipping "hard" ones. Elimination ideas are mandatory (subtraction is underused). Top 5 must balance wild and workable. Each shortlisted idea needs a concrete next step, not just praise.

Variables to fill in

Replace each [variable] in the prompt with your own details:

[SUBJECT] [CURRENT_STATE] [GOAL] [CONSTRAINTS]

Example input

SUBJECT: my weekly team meeting; CURRENT_STATE: 60-min status round-robin, low energy; GOAL: make it valuable or kill it; CONSTRAINTS: must keep team aligned

How to use this prompt

Do all 7 lenses even when one feels silly — the silly lens often hides the breakthrough. Force 3+ ideas per lens; the first is obvious, the third is interesting. Test the top idea as a 2-week experiment, not a permanent change.