chatgpt prompts for email writing: 7 useful templates

Use chatgpt prompts for email writing by specifying the reader, the confirmed facts and the one action you want next. Pick a template below, replace the brackets with your details, then check the draft before sending it.

A prompt is the instruction you give an AI writing assistant. A draft is the proposed message, ready for your review. Treat each template here as a small writing brief: you supply the business decision, then ask for suitable wording.

What should you put in an email prompt?

Start by finishing this sentence: “After reading this, the recipient should…” Choose a concrete answer, such as approve a quote, select a meeting time or send a missing document.

Then write the facts that support that request. Google’s guidance for Gemini recommends specifying the recipient, subject, required action and tone. Google’s email prompting guidance.

Ask for a subject line as well as the body. The subject line is the short heading shown in the inbox. Make it describe the actual request: “Choose your workshop date” is a useful working example when that is the decision you need.

For sales messages, settle the offer before writing the email. Use the related sales prompt templates to work through objections and missing information. Bring only approved details into the final writing brief.

Which seven email prompts should you save?

Save the templates that match recurring work in your business. Every situation below is hypothetical, and all bracketed details need replacing. Remove a field if it does not apply rather than asking the assistant to guess.

1. Reply to an enquiry without overselling

Write a reply to a prospective client asking about [service]. Their question is [anonymised message]. Our confirmed scope is [deliverables], the price is [amount and currency], and the exclusions are [items]. Use plain English. Provide a subject line and three short paragraphs. End by asking for [one detail]. Do not add guarantees, discounts or availability.

Check that the reply answers the actual enquiry before adding background about your business. If the customer asked whether installation is included, make that answer easy to find.

2. Follow up on an unanswered proposal

Draft a polite follow-up about this proposal: [summary]. We last discussed [confirmed point]. Ask whether the recipient wants to proceed, revise the scope or pause. Keep the message brief and relaxed. Do not invent a deadline, imply they promised to buy, or apologise repeatedly for contacting them.

Read the latest conversation before sending. If they have already declined, replace the follow-up with an appropriate acknowledgement.

3. Explain a delayed order

Write a customer update about a delayed order. Confirmed facts: [facts]. What we are doing now: [action]. Next update we can commit to: [time]. Acknowledge the inconvenience. If the delivery date is unknown, say so clearly. Do not invent a cause, compensation offer or delivery promise. Finish with the appropriate contact option: [details].

Decide what you can commit to before requesting the wording. A promised update and a promised delivery are different commitments; check which one the draft makes.

4. Announce a price change

Draft an email to an existing client about a price change. Current arrangement: [details]. Approved new price: [amount and currency]. Effective date: [date]. What remains included: [scope]. Available choices: [approved options]. Explain the change plainly without inventing cost increases. End with one clear next step and avoid defensive language.

Work through the commercial decision using the guide to communicating a price increase. Before sending, confirm which agreement and service period the email concerns.

5. Turn meeting notes into a useful recap

Turn these notes into a client recap: [anonymised notes]. Separate confirmed decisions, proposed ideas and unanswered questions. Include each agreed action with its owner and deadline only when supplied. Mark missing details for my review outside the email. End by asking the client to flag any misunderstanding. Do not turn suggestions into commitments.

Compare the recap with your notes line by line. Pay particular attention to words such as “agreed”, “approved” and “included”. Keep them only when the notes support them.

6. Request missing information

Write a friendly email requesting the information needed to start [project]. Missing items: [list]. Explain the purpose of each item using these notes: [reasons]. Give the recipient a short checklist. Include a deadline only if supplied here: [deadline]. Do not request passwords, payment card details or unrelated personal information.

For a new colleague, connect this message with your employee onboarding process. Assign someone to answer questions when a requested item is unavailable.

7. Edit a message that sounds too formal

Edit this email: [draft]. Keep every confirmed fact, name, amount and deadline unchanged. Replace stiff wording with everyday business English. Remove repeated points and keep one main request. Return the revised email, then separately list any sentence whose meaning is unclear. Do not add a cheerful opening or closing unless it fits the relationship.

For a job application follow-up, adapt the structure using the interview thank-you email guide. Keep details specific to the conversation you actually had.

How do you fix a draft that misses the point?

Name the problem and request one targeted revision. Avoid changing the audience, length and purpose all at once. Keep your original facts beside the draft while reviewing.

• Too much introduction: “Put the reason for writing in the first sentence after the greeting.”
• Too many requests: “Keep only the question needed to move this conversation forward.”
• Too much pressure: “Remove urgency unless the supplied facts include a real deadline.”
• Too vague: “Replace general benefits with the specific deliverables I provided.”

Here is a hypothetical edit. Replace “We would appreciate your consideration of the aforementioned options” with “Which option would you prefer?” Keep the original wording if you need a different decision, such as formal approval.

Ask for a final commitment check: “List every promise this email makes.” Review that list yourself. Remove any promise you cannot honour rather than simply softening its wording.

How do you draft an email with Gemini in Gmail?

Look for Help me write in the compose window. The supplied Google guide covers Workspace Experiments, a testing programme, so check your own account before relying on these controls. Google’s availability note and instructions.

1. Open Gmail on your computer and select Compose.
2. Open Help me write and enter your completed brief.
3. Select Create and read the draft.
4. Request a specific revision or use Formalize, Friendly or Shorten.

These controls are documented in the Gmail drafting guide. For your first attempt, use a routine meeting request without private customer details.

Do not judge the result only by whether it sounds polished. Compare the requested action with your brief. If the recipient must choose a date, the final paragraph should make that choice clear.

How should you use Copilot in Outlook?

In new Outlook, start a new email, choose Copilot’s Draft option, enter your brief and select Generate. Review the result before choosing Keep it and editing further. Microsoft’s drafting instructions.

Try this hypothetical brief: “Ask our supplier to confirm availability for [items]. Use the quantities below. Request a delivery estimate, but do not present any date as agreed.” Check that the draft asks for an estimate rather than announcing one.

Draft with Copilot does not support plain-text composition in new Outlook and Outlook on the web. Choose HTML, the formatted email mode; contact your IT administrator if access is unavailable. Microsoft’s format and access notes.

What should you check before sending or reusing a template?

Review the message as the person responsible for fulfilling it. Check the recipient, facts, attachments and next step. Keep drafting and sending as separate decisions when you begin.

• Does the message answer the customer’s current question?
• Are prices, currencies, dates and names correct?
• Have all brackets and private drafting notes been removed?
• Are mentioned attachments actually attached?
• Can your business deliver every stated commitment?

Google’s Workspace Experiments guidance says not to include personal, confidential or sensitive information in prompts. Google’s data guidance. Use placeholders when practising these templates.

This week, choose one recurring message and record how much editing each draft needs. Keep the prompt only if the finished email meets your standard. For promotional emails sharing a resource, plan the offer with the guide to creating a useful lead magnet, meaning a resource offered to attract interested prospects.