With the widespread adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI), prompts have become an important medium of interaction between users and AI models. They not only influence the direction of AI-generated content but may also embody users’ creative intentions and expressive choices. However, existing discussions of intellectual property protection for generative AI tend to conflate the prompt itself, its influence on the generation process, and human contributions to AI-generated outputs. This has resulted in unclear protected objects and assessment standards, leaving prompts subject to both regulatory gaps and divergent judicial interpretations. This article demonstrates the necessity of legal protection for prompts from both technological and legal perspectives. By analyzing the role of prompts within the technological process, it clarifies their potential legal significance. Interests associated with generative-AI prompts do not constitute a protected object with a single legal characterization but should be classified according to their different stages in the creative process: first, the prompt itself as an independent form of expression; second, the user’s control and creative contribution to the AI-generation process embodied in the prompt; and third, new expression created through the user’s editing, modification, or supplementation of the initial AI-generated output. Generative AI produces final outputs through model training, semantic prediction, and probabilistic calculation. Although prompts can influence the direction of model generation, they generally do not directly determine the specific content or form of the resulting expression. Therefore, entering a prompt cannot automatically give rise to copyright protection or determine copyright ownership. The focus should instead be on whether the user makes a legally meaningful creative contribution through prompt design, adjustment of the generation process, and subsequent editing. Intellectual property protection for generative-AI prompts should be established within the existing intellectual property framework by developing a classified protection model based on human creative contributions at different stages and establishing protection standards and institutional mechanisms consistent with the technological characteristics of AI. Establishing a clear framework for the independent protection of prompts is not only a key component of developing the intellectual property system in the age of AI but also a necessary measure for upholding the legal principle of human-centeredness and protecting human intellectual contributions. It is of significant theoretical and practical importance for promoting the healthy and orderly development of the generative-AI industry.