diff --git a/app/services/discourse_ai/translator.rb b/app/services/discourse_ai/translator.rb
index ff2cba1b..53a2051b 100644
--- a/app/services/discourse_ai/translator.rb
+++ b/app/services/discourse_ai/translator.rb
@@ -3,11 +3,13 @@
 module DiscourseAi
   class Translator
     PROMPT_TEMPLATE = <<~TEXT.freeze
-      You are a highly skilled linguist and web programmer, with expertise in many languages, and very well versed in HTML.
+      You are a highly skilled linguist of many languages and have expert knowledge in HTML.
       Your task is to identify the language of the text I provide and accurately translate it into this language locale "%{target_language}" while preserving the meaning, tone, and nuance of the original text.
-      The text will contain html tags, which must absolutely be preserved in the translation.
+      The text may or may not contain html tags. If they do, preserve them.
       Maintain proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the translated version.
-      Wrap the translated text in a <translation> tag.
+      You will find the text between <input></input> XML tags.
+      Include your translation between <output></output> XML tags.
+      Do not write explanations.
     TEXT
 
     def initialize(text, target_language)
@@ -19,7 +21,7 @@ def translate
       prompt =
         DiscourseAi::Completions::Prompt.new(
           build_prompt(@target_language),
-          messages: [{ type: :user, content: @text, id: "user" }],
+          messages: [{ type: :user, content: "<input>#{@text}</input>", id: "user" }],
         )
 
       llm_translation =
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ def translate
           feature_name: "translator-translate",
         )
 
-      (Nokogiri::HTML5.fragment(llm_translation).at("translation")&.inner_html || llm_translation)
+      (Nokogiri::HTML5.fragment(llm_translation).at("output")&.inner_html || "").strip
     end
 
     private
diff --git a/db/migrate/20250224120505_cleanup_ai_translations.rb b/db/migrate/20250224120505_cleanup_ai_translations.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55f7dc6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20250224120505_cleanup_ai_translations.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+class CleanupAiTranslations < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.2]
+  def up
+    execute <<~SQL
+      DELETE FROM discourse_translator_topic_translations
+      WHERE translation LIKE 'To%'
+      AND translation ILIKE '%translat%'
+      AND LENGTH(translation) > 100;
+    SQL
+  end
+
+  def down
+    raise ActiveRecord::IrreversibleMigration
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/services/discourse_ai/translator_spec.rb b/spec/services/discourse_ai/translator_spec.rb
index d3f10c7d..e78d3da3 100644
--- a/spec/services/discourse_ai/translator_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/discourse_ai/translator_spec.rb
@@ -17,13 +17,15 @@
     it "creates the correct prompt" do
       allow(DiscourseAi::Completions::Prompt).to receive(:new).with(
         <<~TEXT,
-          You are a highly skilled linguist and web programmer, with expertise in many languages, and very well versed in HTML.
+          You are a highly skilled linguist of many languages and have expert knowledge in HTML.
           Your task is to identify the language of the text I provide and accurately translate it into this language locale "de" while preserving the meaning, tone, and nuance of the original text.
-          The text will contain html tags, which must absolutely be preserved in the translation.
+          The text may or may not contain html tags. If they do, preserve them.
           Maintain proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the translated version.
-          Wrap the translated text in a <translation> tag.
+          You will find the text between <input></input> XML tags.
+          Include your translation between <output></output> XML tags.
+          Do not write explanations.
         TEXT
-        messages: [{ type: :user, content: text_to_translate, id: "user" }],
+        messages: [{ type: :user, content: "<input>cats are great</input>", id: "user" }],
       ).and_call_original
 
       described_class.new(text_to_translate, target_language).translate
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@
 
     it "returns the translation from the llm's response in the translation tag" do
       DiscourseAi::Completions::Llm.with_prepared_responses(
-        ["<translation>hur dur hur dur!</translation>"],
+        ["<output>hur dur hur dur!</output>"],
       ) do
         expect(
           described_class.new(text_to_translate, target_language).translate,
@@ -56,11 +58,9 @@
       end
     end
 
-    it "returns the raw response if the translation tag is not present" do
+    it "returns an empty string if the translation tag is not present" do
       DiscourseAi::Completions::Llm.with_prepared_responses(["raw response."]) do
-        expect(
-          described_class.new(text_to_translate, target_language).translate,
-        ).to eq "raw response."
+        expect(described_class.new(text_to_translate, target_language).translate).to eq ""
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/spec/services/discourse_ai_spec.rb b/spec/services/discourse_ai_spec.rb
index e46b4b4b..a2979c56 100644
--- a/spec/services/discourse_ai_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/discourse_ai_spec.rb
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 
     it "translates the post and returns [locale, translated_text]" do
       DiscourseAi::Completions::Llm.with_prepared_responses(
-        ["<translation>some translated text</translation>"],
+        ["<output>some translated text</output>"],
       ) do
         locale, translated_text = DiscourseTranslator::DiscourseAi.translate(post)
         expect(locale).to eq "de"