AI Prompts for Small Business Owners: 25 You Can Copy Today

A good AI prompt for a small business has four parts: who you are, what you need, what the answer should look like, and what to do when the AI isn't sure. Below are 25 prompts built that way, ready to copy into ChatGPT or Claude. Swap the parts in [brackets] for your details.

Every prompt here is a draft machine. A person reads and approves anything before it reaches a customer. That's how we run our own companies, and it's the rule we'd give you.

What makes a prompt work?

Here's the formula we use across East Coast Mortgage, Wander Luxe Lodgings and our software products.

1. Context. Who you are, who the customer is, what matters.
2. Task. One clear job. Not five.
3. Format. Length, structure, tone. "Under 120 words, no bullet points."
4. Guardrail. What to do when it doesn't know. "If the answer isn't in the policy, say so and flag it for me."

The guardrail is the part most people skip, and it's the most important. Our Wander Luxe AI guest assistant answers from the site's own content and never guesses at prices. That one rule does more for trust than any clever wording.

Save time on setup. Put your business brief and a few writing samples into a Project (Claude) or project instructions (ChatGPT) once, and you can drop the context line from every prompt below.

Customer service prompts

1. Reply to a customer email

You're helping [business name], a [type of business] in [city]. Draft a reply to the customer email below. Be warm and direct, under 120 words. Use only the policy I paste. If the policy doesn't cover their question, write [CHECK] where I need to fill in. Email: [paste]. Policy: [paste]

Why it works: limiting it to the policy you paste stops it from inventing a refund or a timeline, and [CHECK] shows you exactly where your judgment is needed.

2. Calm down an upset customer

A customer is upset. Draft a reply that acknowledges the problem in one sentence, says what we'll do next and by when, and doesn't admit fault or promise a refund. Keep it human and short. Message: [paste]

Why it works: upset customers mostly want to know they were heard and what happens next. Keeping fault and refunds out leaves those decisions with you.

3. Build an FAQ from real questions

Here are questions customers asked us in the last 3 months. Group them into 6 to 10 topics, then write a short answer for each topic using only our policies below. Mark any answer you had to guess with [VERIFY]. Questions: [paste]. Policies: [paste]

Why it works: grouping first shows you what people really ask about. The [VERIFY] tag keeps a guessed answer from slipping onto your website.

4. Summarize a long thread

Summarize this email thread in 5 bullets: what the customer wants, what we promised, what's still open, who owes the next step, and any dates. Thread: [paste]

Why it works: the five fixed bullets force a useful summary instead of a retelling. Use it before you pick up any thread someone else started.

5. Write a review request

Write a short text message asking a happy customer for a Google review. Mention [specific thing we did for them]. Under 300 characters. No pressure, no incentives. Leave [LINK] where the review link goes.

Why it works: naming the specific thing you did makes it personal. Leaving out incentives matters, because Google's review rules don't allow paying for reviews.

Sales prompts

6. Turn notes into a quote

Turn my job notes into a quote using the same structure as the sample quote below. Use only the prices in my price list. If something in my notes isn't on the price list, list it at the end under "Needs pricing." Notes: [paste]. Price list: [paste]. Sample quote: [paste]

Why it works: a sample quote gives it your structure, and the price list keeps it honest. The "Needs pricing" list is where most quoting mistakes get caught.

7. Follow up with a quiet lead

A lead asked about [service] [number] days ago and went quiet. Write 3 short follow-ups: a friendly check-in, one that shares something useful about [topic], and a polite close-the-loop. Each under 80 words. No guilt trips.

Why it works: three different angles beat sending the same nudge three times, and short, kind messages are easy to answer.

8. Prep for a sales call

I have a call with a [type of customer] who wants [goal]. Give me 5 questions to understand their situation, the 3 objections I'm most likely to hear, and a one-sentence answer to each. Here's what I know: [paste]

Why it works: walking in with good questions and ready answers to the likely pushback makes a call feel calm instead of rushed.

9. Compare us to an alternative, honestly

A prospect is choosing between us and [alternative type, e.g. doing it in-house]. Write a fair comparison table with 6 rows. Include where the alternative is the better choice. Then write 3 sentences I can say on a call. Our details: [paste]

Why it works: admitting where the other option wins builds trust fast, and the table gives the prospect something to share with whoever else decides.

10. Write a proposal summary

Write a one-paragraph summary for the top of this proposal. Lead with the customer's problem in their own words, then what we'll do, then the timeline. No buzzwords. Proposal: [paste]

Why it works: busy readers only read the top. Putting their problem first, in their words, shows you listened.

Marketing prompts

11. Five hooks before the post

I want a social post about [topic] for [audience]. Before writing it, give me 5 different opening lines: one question, one surprising fact I provide, one short story, one bold opinion, one direct benefit. Facts you can use: [paste]

Why it works: the opening line decides whether anyone reads the rest. Choosing from five beats polishing one, and supplying the facts keeps it from inventing a statistic.

12. Rewrite in my voice

Here are 3 things I wrote that sound like me: [paste]. Rewrite the draft below in that voice. Match sentence length and word choice. Never use these words: [list]. Draft: [paste]

Why it works: real samples teach tone better than adjectives like "friendly" ever will. The banned word list removes the phrases that make writing sound machine made.

13. Turn one piece into five

Turn this blog post into: 1 email to our list, 2 social posts, 1 Google Business Profile update, and 1 short text for past customers. Keep every fact exactly as written. Post: [paste]

Why it works: one good piece of work becomes a week of content. "Keep every fact exactly as written" stops details from drifting between versions.

14. Find the gaps on a web page

Read this page as a first-time customer. List the 5 questions you'd still have, and the one sentence that would make you leave. Then suggest fixes. Page: [paste]

Why it works: you know your business too well to read your own page like a stranger. The AI doesn't, which is the point.

15. Plan a month of content

Make a 4-week content plan for [business] aimed at [customer]. Two posts a week. For each, give the topic, the hook, and which customer question it answers. Base it on these real questions: [paste]

Why it works: posts built from real customer questions answer what people actually wonder about, and they give your team links to send.

Operations prompts

16. Meeting notes to action items

Turn these meeting notes into a table with columns: task, owner, due date, done when. If an owner or date isn't clear, write "?" so I can fill it in. Notes: [paste]

Why it works: "done when" turns vague tasks into finished ones, and the question marks make missing owners impossible to ignore.

17. Write a process from a voice memo

Here's a transcript of me explaining how we [process]. Turn it into numbered steps a new hire could follow on day one. Add a "common mistakes" section at the end. Transcript: [paste]

Why it works: talking is faster than writing for most owners. The common mistakes section is where the knowledge in your head finally gets written down.

18. Write a job post

Write a job post for a [role] at a [size] [type of business]. Describe the real work week, not a wish list. Include pay range [range], schedule, and 3 must-haves. Then give me 8 interview questions tied to the actual work.

Why it works: describing the real week attracts people who want that week. Interview questions tied to the work show you who can actually do it.

19. Make a checklist from a policy

Turn this policy into a checklist someone can follow on their phone. Short lines, one action each, grouped by before, during and after. Policy: [paste]

Why it works: nobody follows a policy they have to scroll through. A short checklist on a phone gets used in the moment it matters.

20. Plan a project

I need to [goal] by [date]. Break it into weekly milestones, list what could go wrong at each step, and tell me the first thing to do tomorrow morning.

Why it works: listing risks at each step makes you plan for them early, and a first step for tomorrow morning gets the project moving.

Money and admin prompts

21. Pull data out of a PDF

From the attached invoices, make a table with: vendor, invoice number, date, due date, subtotal, tax, total. If a field is unclear, write UNCLEAR instead of guessing. Then add a row that totals each money column.

Why it works: UNCLEAR is the most important word here. A blank you can see is safer than a wrong number you can't, and the totals row lets you check it fast.

22. Explain a spreadsheet

Here's an export of [sales/expenses]. Tell me the 3 biggest changes from last month to this month and show the math for each so I can check it. Don't guess at causes; list questions I should ask instead.

Why it works: asking for the math lets you verify every claim. Asking for questions instead of causes keeps it from making up a story about your numbers.

23. Draft a payment reminder

Write a friendly reminder that invoice [number] for [amount] was due on [date]. Short, polite, includes how to pay: [method]. No threats. Then write a firmer second version for 14 days later.

Why it works: a clear amount, date and way to pay makes it easy for the customer to act. Having the firmer version ready means you don't write it while annoyed.

24. Decode a contract (before your lawyer)

Summarize this contract in short bullets: what I'm agreeing to, what it costs, how I get out, and anything unusual. Then list questions I should ask my attorney. This is not legal advice; flag anything you're unsure about. Contract: [paste]

Why it works: you show up to your attorney prepared, which makes the meeting shorter. The summary helps you ask better questions; it doesn't replace legal advice.

25. Review my week

Here are my calendar, my task list and my notes from this week. What took the most time, what got dropped, and what's one thing I should stop doing next week? Be direct. [paste]

Why it works: most owners never look back at their week. Five minutes with this prompt on a Friday shows you where the time really went.

How do I make these prompts better for my business?

Treat every prompt as version one. A few habits make a big difference.

1. Reply to the first draft. Don't start over. Say "shorter," "less formal," or "you missed the part about pickup times." The second draft is usually the keeper.
2. Save your winners. Keep a shared doc of the prompts that work, with your details already filled in. That doc becomes your team's playbook.
3. Add your real examples. One past email or quote you liked teaches more than a paragraph of instructions.
4. Say who it's for. "For a first-time homebuyer" and "for a contractor we've worked with for years" produce very different replies.
5. Ask it to ask you. End with "Ask me up to 3 questions before you start if anything is unclear." You'll get fewer wrong guesses.

How do I go from prompts to automation?

Once a prompt works every time, it's a candidate for automation. We've done this in our own companies. The idea behind prompt 21 runs as a Closing Disclosure reader at East Coast Mortgage that fills in a whole deal for a person to review. The idea behind prompt 15 runs as a search content engine at Wander Luxe that drafts weekly posts and holds them for approval.

A good test: if you've pasted the same prompt more than ten times, it should probably run on its own. Read How to Use Claude for Your Small Business for setup, and How to Automate Lead Follow-Up for what prompt 7 looks like as a real system. If you're still choosing a tool, see ChatGPT vs Claude for Business.

What should I never put in a prompt?

• Passwords, card numbers, bank account numbers or Social Security numbers.
• Health information, unless you're on a plan with a signed business associate agreement.
• Anything you wouldn't want an employee to read, on a personal AI account.

Use a business plan for anything with customer details. Most prompts work fine with a first name and the facts of the request.

The short version

• Every good prompt has context, one task, a format and a guardrail for when the AI isn't sure.
• Put your business brief and writing samples in a Project once, so prompts can stay short.
• Tell the AI to write [CHECK] or UNCLEAR instead of guessing. It's the most useful line you can add.
• A person approves anything that reaches a customer.
• When a prompt works every time, turn it into an automation.