Most people use ChatGPT like a search engine: a short question, a so-so answer. The trick to getting useful work out of it is giving it the same context you'd give a new employee. Here are ten prompts small business owners can copy, fill in, and use today. Replace anything in [brackets] with your own details.
Before you start: give it context once
ChatGPT works much better when it knows who you are. Start a conversation with something like this, then use the prompts below in the same chat:
"I own [business name], a [type of business] in [town], Mississippi. Our customers are mostly [who they are]. We're known for [what makes you different]. Write in a friendly, plain, no-jargon voice, like a local business owner talking to a neighbor."
10 prompts you can use today
1. Reply to a customer email
"Here's an email from a customer: [paste email]. Write a short, friendly reply that answers their question, [include any details, like price or availability], and ends by asking if they'd like to book."
2. Answer your most common questions
"Here are our services, prices, hours and policies: [paste]. Write clear, short answers to the 10 questions customers are most likely to ask a [type of business]."
3. Respond to a bad review
"Here's a negative review we got: [paste]. Write a calm, professional reply that thanks them, takes responsibility where it's fair, doesn't argue, and invites them to contact us directly at [phone or email]."
4. Turn rough notes into a quote or proposal
"Here are my notes from a site visit: [paste notes]. Turn them into a clear, professional quote with a short summary, a list of the work, and the price of [amount]. Keep it to one page."
5. Plan a month of social media
"Give me 12 social media post ideas for [business] for [month], mixing helpful tips, behind-the-scenes, customer stories and one promotion. For each, write a short caption and suggest a photo I could take."
6. Write a follow-up sequence for leads
"Write three short follow-up texts for someone who asked about [service] but hasn't booked: one for the same day, one for three days later, and one for a week later. Friendly, not pushy."
7. Write or improve a page on your website
"Here's the current text on my [services] page: [paste]. Rewrite it so a customer understands in 10 seconds what we do, who it's for, and how to contact us. Mention that we serve [towns]."
8. Make a checklist or process
"Write a step-by-step checklist for [task, like onboarding a new customer or closing the shop at night] that a new employee could follow without asking questions."
9. Make sense of your numbers
"Here's a spreadsheet of our sales for the last six months: [upload or paste]. Which services bring in the most money? Which months are slowest? What are three things you'd look into?"
10. Prepare for a tough conversation
"I need to tell a long-time customer that our prices are going up by [amount] starting [date]. Help me write a short, honest message that explains why and thanks them for their loyalty."
Three habits that make the answers better
Ask for changes. If the first answer isn't right, say "shorter," "less formal," or "sound more like me" instead of starting over.
Give it an example. Paste a past email or post you liked and say "write it like this."
Always read before you send. AI can be confidently wrong, especially about prices, dates and facts. You're still the expert.
And one rule: don't paste sensitive information like card numbers, Social Security numbers or medical details into a free AI tool.
When copying and pasting gets old
If you're running the same prompt every day, that's a sign it's ready to be automated. Instead of copying an email into ChatGPT and pasting the reply back, an automation can draft the reply for you to approve, or send it on its own. For more ideas, read 5 practical ways to put AI to work in your business.
I'm Ben McAlilly, and I build AI automations for small businesses in Tupelo and across North Mississippi. Take the free 60-second automation audit, book a free strategy call, or call (662) 205-8582.