Why Doesn’t Claude Follow Instructions Properly?

I've noticed that when I create specific prompts guiding Claude to use certain XML templates, it sometimes works perfectly. But more often than not, it deviates from the instructions, leading to incorrectly formatted content and missing parts. It's a real headache!

From my quick tests, it seems Claude 4 Opus handles instructions pretty well, similar to 3.5. But Claude 4 Sonnet is a bit of a nightmare; it’s like it dropped the ball from version 3.7. I wish we could just stick to 3.5 to double-check the latest versions!

Yeah, I'm in the same boat! Even when I'm specific, it tends to drift from the main task and starts reformatting everything. I've found that I need to repeat my instructions or reference the guidelines every couple of times. It seems to mess up more when the servers are busy, so I try to use it during off-peak hours for better results.