AI Prompt Examples: Before and After for Real Business Jobs

A weak prompt isn't wrong, it's just thin. "Write a reply to this customer" gives an AI tool almost nothing to work with, so it fills the gaps with generic guesses, and you spend ten minutes fixing a draft that should have taken one. The fix is rarely clever. It's adding the details you'd give a new member of staff on their first morning.

Below are nine everyday jobs, each with a one-sentence weak prompt and a better version you can copy. They work in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot, so use whichever you already have open.

What makes a good AI prompt?

Every prompt that works well has the same four parts. Once you can see them, you can build your own for any job.

• Role. Who the AI should be. "You're a friendly customer service manager for a small bakery" sets the tone before anything else.
• Task. The one thing you want done, stated plainly. Not three things at once.
• Context. What it needs to know: who the reader is, what happened, what you've already tried, what to avoid.
• Format. What the answer should look like: length, structure, tone, whether you want options.

Most weak prompts have only the task. The examples below add the other three, and you'll see the difference straight away.

What do weak and better prompts look like for customer emails?

Customer messages are where most people start, because the stakes are small and the time saved is real. Notice how the better versions tell the AI who's writing, who's reading and what the outcome should be.

Replying to a customer email

The weak version: Write a reply to this customer email.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

You're the owner of [business], writing to a customer in a warm, calm, plain-English voice.
Here's their email: [paste it]. Here's what I can offer: [what you can do and by when].
Write a reply of under a hundred and twenty words that answers every question they asked, says sorry once if we got something wrong and ends with one clear next step. Give me two versions: one more formal, one more relaxed.

Following up a quote

The weak version: Write a follow-up email about my quote.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

You're [your name] from [business]. I sent a quote for [job] to [name] [number of days] ago and haven't heard back.
Write a short, friendly follow-up that doesn't sound pushy. Remind them what the quote covers in one sentence, offer to answer questions or adjust the scope, and make it easy to say yes or no.
Keep it under ninety words and give me a subject line that doesn't sound like a sales email.

Replying to a review

The weak version: Reply to this review.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

You're the owner of [business]. Reply to this customer review in a warm and human way: [paste review].
If it's positive, thank them for something specific they mentioned. If it's negative, acknowledge the problem without making excuses, say what we'll do and invite them to contact us at [your contact method].
Under seventy words, no corporate phrases, and don't copy the wording of the review back at them.

What do better prompts look like for things you publish?

Anything customers read needs your details in it, or it'll sound like everyone else's. The trick is feeding the AI the real facts and telling it what to leave out.

Writing a product description

The weak version: Write a product description for my candles.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

Write a product description for [product], for [type of customer] who care about [what matters to them].
Facts to use: [materials, size, how it's made, what makes it different]. Don't invent any facts that aren't on this list.
Write two short paragraphs and then three bullet points. Warm and specific, no clichés such as "perfect gift" or "treat yourself". Give me two alternative opening lines.

Writing a menu or service list

The weak version: Write a menu for my cafe.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

You're writing the menu for [business], a [type of place] known for [what you're known for].
Here are the items with their ingredients or details: [paste your list].
Write a short, appetising description of each item in one line, in a friendly voice. Keep any dietary details exactly as I've given them, and flag anything where you need more information rather than guessing.

Writing a social post

The weak version: Write a social media post about our new service.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

You're writing a post for [platform] from [business], a [type of business] in [town or region].
The news: [what's new and who it helps]. The tone: [friendly, practical, a little cheeky].
Give me three versions, each under sixty words, each starting with a different kind of opening line: a question, a surprising fact and a short story. No hashtags, no emojis.

Writing a job advert

The weak version: Write a job advert for an assistant.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

Write a job advert for a [role] at [business], a small [type of business] with [number] people.
About us: [two sentences]. The work: [main tasks]. Must-haves: [skills]. Nice-to-haves: [extras]. Hours and location: [details].
Make it sound like a real person wrote it, be honest about the downsides of the job, and end with how to apply. Around three hundred words.

How can AI help with meetings and website questions?

These two are about taking something messy and making it clear. Give the AI the raw material and tell it exactly what to pull out.

Summarising a meeting

The weak version: Summarise these meeting notes.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

Here are the raw notes from a meeting with [who]: [paste notes or transcript].
Summarise them for someone who wasn't there. Give me: the decisions made, the actions with who's doing what and by when, and any open questions.
Use short bullet points under those three headings. If an action has no owner or no date, flag it rather than making one up.

Writing an FAQ for your website

The weak version: Write an FAQ for my website.

The better version:

Copy this prompt

You're writing the FAQ page for [business], which sells [what you sell] to [who you serve].
Here are the questions customers ask us most often: [list them]. Here's how we handle each one: [your answers, in note form].
Write each answer in two to four plain sentences in a warm, direct voice, using only the facts I've given. Put the most asked question first and finish with a line telling people how to get in touch.

How do I turn a weak prompt into a better one?

When a prompt gives you a disappointing answer, don't start again. Work through the four parts and see which is missing. Nine times out of ten it's context. You know your customer, your tone and your limits; the AI doesn't, until you say so.

Here's a prompt that does the checking for you. Paste it in with whatever you wrote, and it'll show you what to add.

Copy and paste this prompt

Here's a prompt I wrote: [paste your prompt].
Check it against four things: the role, the task, the context and the format. Tell me which are missing or too vague, ask me up to three questions to fill the gaps, then rewrite the prompt so it's ready to use.

If you want to understand why this works, my guide to what system prompts are and how they shape every answer explains what's going on behind the chat box, and the basics of prompt engineering goes further on the habits that make prompts reliable.

Which tools can I use these prompts in?

All of them. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot all take a plain-language request, and the four-part structure works in each. If your business lives in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, use the assistant built into the tools you already have open. The only thing that changes is where you paste the prompt.

If you'd like help turning examples like these into a set of prompts built around your own business, so your team gets the same quality every time, this is how I work with business owners.

If you want the full set, start at the ChatGPT Prompts and Limits: 30 Guides to Fun Prompts, Photo Edits and Daily Caps. To write your own, try the free ChatGPT prompt generator.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good example of an AI prompt?

A good prompt states a role, a task, the context and the format. For example: you're a friendly bakery owner, reply to this complaint, here's what happened and what we can offer, in under a hundred and twenty words with one clear next step.

What are the four parts of a good prompt?

Role, task, context and format. Role says who the AI should be, task says what to do, context gives the facts and the reader, and format says how the answer should look.

Do these AI prompt examples work in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini?

Yes. They're written in plain English with no special syntax, so they work in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. Paste one in and swap the brackets for your own details.

How long should a prompt be?

As long as it needs to be to give the AI what a new member of staff would need. A few sentences with your details is usually enough. A one-line request usually gets a generic answer.

Why does AI give me generic answers?

Usually because the prompt is missing context. Tell it who you are, who the reader is, what facts to use and what to avoid, and ask for a specific format and length.