How to use these
Open ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot on your phone or computer. The free versions are fine. Paste a prompt, swap the words in [brackets] for your own, and send. If the answer isn't right, tell it what to change.
Start a chat with two or three lines about your business: what you sell, where you are, who your customers are, how you like to sound. Every answer after that will fit you better.
Introduce your business
At the start of any chat.
I run [type of business] in [place]. Our customers are mostly [who]. We're known for [what makes you different]. I like to sound [e.g. warm and down to earth, never pushy]. Keep this in mind for everything I ask next. Just reply "Got it".
Tip: Save this in your phone's notes so you can paste it each time.
Customers
Reply to a bad review
A one-star review has ruined your morning.
Write a reply to this review of my business: [paste the review]. What actually happened from our side: [your side, briefly]. Be calm and polite, say sorry for what we got wrong, don't argue, and invite them to contact us at [how]. Under 80 words. Other customers will read this, so make us look fair.
Tip: Never paste the customer's full name or details. The wording of the review is enough.
Reply to a good review
Someone's said something lovely. Replying helps other people find you.
Write three different short thank-you replies to this review: [paste it]. Mention something specific they said, sound like a real person, and keep each under 40 words.
Answer the questions you get every day
You're typing the same replies again and again.
These are the questions customers ask me most: [list them]. Here are the true answers: [your answers, roughly]. Write a short, friendly ready-to-send reply for each one that I can save and reuse, and a single FAQ I can put on my website or pin on social media.
Say no politely
A customer wants a refund, discount or favour you can't give.
Write a polite message saying no to a customer who has asked for [what they want]. Our policy is [the rule]. I can offer [anything you can do instead]. Be kind and clear, don't over-apologise, and keep it under 90 words.
Money
Chase a late payment, three ways
An invoice is overdue and you hate asking.
Write three payment reminders for invoice [number] for [amount], which was due on [date]. One: a friendly nudge. Two: a firmer reminder a week later. Three: a final notice that stays polite and mentions [your late-payment terms]. Each under 80 words, with the amount, due date and how to pay: [payment details placeholder].
Tip: Send the first one a few days after the due date, and space the others a week apart.
Write a quote that wins the job
You've seen the job and need to send a price.
Write a clear quote for a customer. The job: [what you'll do]. Price: [amount, and what it includes]. Not included: [anything extra]. When I can start: [date], and how long it takes: [time]. Payment terms: [terms]. Make it easy to say yes to, plain English, and add one line on why they can trust us: [e.g. 12 years in business, insured].
Work out a fair price
You're not sure what to charge for something new.
Help me price [product or service]. My costs for each one are: [materials, time, anything else]. I'd like to earn [amount] an hour for my time. Similar businesses near me charge about [range, if you know]. Show me the sums step by step, suggest a price and a "good, better, best" set of three options, and tell me what to check.
Tip: It can't know your local market. Check its numbers against what others near you charge.
Getting found
A month of social posts in ten minutes
You know you should post more, and never know what to say.
Give me 12 post ideas for my business's [Instagram/Facebook] for the next month. Mix: behind the scenes, a customer question answered, a tip, a product or service in action, and a team or local story. For each, write the caption in my voice, under 60 words, and suggest the photo I should take. No hashtag walls: three at most.
Write your Google Business Profile description
People find you on Google Maps, and your description is blank or ten years old.
Write a description for my Google Business Profile. We are [what you are] in [area]. We offer [main things]. People choose us because [reasons]. Plain and friendly, under 700 characters, with the things people search for ([e.g. "dog groomer in Walthamstow"]) used naturally, once.
Write a sign, a menu line or a flyer
You need words on a wall or through a letterbox.
Write the wording for a [sign/flyer/menu section] about [what it's for]. The key facts are: [details, dates, prices]. Lead with the most useful thing for the customer, use as few words as possible, and give me three headline options.
Staff and running the place
Draft a staff rota
Sunday night, with a rota to fill.
Make a weekly rota. Opening hours: [hours for each day]. I need [number] people on at quiet times and [number] at busy times, which are [when]. Staff and their availability: [list each person, their hours limit and days they can't work]. Share weekends fairly. Show it as a table by day, then list each person's total hours so I can check it.
Tip: Check it against real availability. It can miscount hours, so ask it to show each person's total.
Write a job advert for your shop window and online
You need someone, quickly.
Write a job advert for a [role] at my [type of business] in [area]. Hours: [hours]. Pay: [pay]. They'll be doing: [main tasks]. I'm looking for someone who is [qualities]. Experience: [needed or not]. Friendly, honest, under 150 words, and end with how to apply. Then a 30-word version for the window.
Write a simple how-to for a new starter
The same things get explained to every new person.
Turn these rough notes into a simple step-by-step guide for a new member of staff on how to [task, e.g. close up at the end of the day]: [your notes]. Numbered steps, short sentences, and a checklist at the end they can tick off.
Plan a quiet-season offer
A slow month is coming.
My [type of business] is quiet in [month/time]. Our regulars are [who]. Suggest five simple offers or events that could bring people in without big discounts. For each: what it is, what it costs me, how to tell people about it, and how I'd know it worked.
Keep going
- New to all this? Start with your first hour with AI.
- Print the one-page prompt cheat sheet for the staff room.