How to write better AI prompts: 7 techniques
Seven plain-English techniques for clearer AI prompts, with before-and-after examples and templates you can copy.
Where AI helps with email, and where it does not
An assistant is good at turning rough points into clean sentences. It is not good at knowing your situation, your history with the person, or what you promised last week. That means you supply the facts and it supplies the wording.
| AI is good at | You still need to do |
|---|---|
| Turning bullet points into a clear, polite message | Decide what you actually want to say and what to leave out. |
| Changing tone: warmer, firmer, more formal, more casual | Judge whether the tone suits this particular person. |
| Shortening long or rambling text | Make sure nothing important was dropped. |
| Suggesting subject lines and openings | Check names, dates, amounts and promises. It can get them wrong. |
Many email programs now have AI built in. Google explains its “Help me write” feature for Gmail, and Microsoft explains how Copilot in Outlook drafts messages (links under Sources). Availability depends on your plan and region. The same prompts below also work in a standalone assistant such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
Seven ways to write better messages with AI
1. Draft from your own notes
Do not ask for “an email about the meeting”. Give the assistant who it is for, what you want, and the facts that must appear. A few bullet points are enough, and the more specific they are, the less editing you do afterwards.
Write an email to [name, and their role]. My goal is to [what you want them to do]. Include these facts: [date, amount, deadline, or other details]. Tone: polite and direct. Keep it under 120 words and end with one clear request.
Notice that the prompt names the goal and the length. Without them, assistants tend to produce long, generic messages with filler such as “I hope this email finds you well”. Our guide to writing better AI prompts explains why these details help.
2. Reply to an email you received
Paste the message you are replying to, then say what your answer is. State the decision yourself. If you leave it to the assistant, it may agree to things you do not want to agree to.
Here is an email I received: [paste email] Write a reply from me. My answer is: [your decision in one sentence]. Answer every question they asked. Do not promise anything I have not listed. Keep it friendly and under 100 words.
The line “do not promise anything I have not listed” matters. Assistants like to be helpful and will sometimes offer a call, a discount or a deadline you never mentioned.
3. Fix the tone before you send
Text is easy to misread. If a draft sounds cold, too blunt or too stiff, paste it in and ask for a specific change. Name the tone you want and the relationship between you and the reader.
Rewrite my message below so it sounds warm but professional. The reader is [a customer / my manager / a colleague I know well]. Keep every fact and request the same. Change only the wording and tone. [paste your draft]
“Keep every fact the same” stops the assistant from quietly changing a date or softening a request into something vague. For a difficult message, such as declining a request, you can add: “Be clear that the answer is no, and do not apologise more than once.”
4. Make it shorter and clearer
Busy readers skim. Long emails often bury the one thing you need. Ask the assistant to lead with the request and cut the rest.
Shorten the email below to under 80 words. Put the main request in the first sentence. Use short sentences and plain words. If there are several questions, put them in a numbered list. Do not remove any dates or numbers. [paste your draft]
Compare the result with your original. If the short version drops a detail the reader needs, add it back yourself.
5. Write follow-ups and awkward messages
Chasing a late reply, asking for payment or sharing bad news is where many people stall. A prompt can give you a calm starting point, and you can then adjust it to sound like you.
Write a polite follow-up to [name]. I first wrote on [date] about [topic] and have not had a reply. I need an answer by [date]. Do not sound annoyed. Make it easy to reply with one line. Give me two versions: one short, one slightly more formal.
Asking for two versions lets you choose the one closest to your voice. Read both aloud before choosing. If it sounds like something you would never say, edit it until it does.
6. Get subject lines and openings
A clear subject line helps people open and find your email later. Ask for several options and pick the plainest one.
Give me five subject lines for the email below. Each should be under 60 characters, say clearly what the email is about, and avoid hype, capital letters and exclamation marks. [paste your draft]
Clear beats clever. “Invoice 1042: payment due 15 November” will usually do more than a catchy line. Avoid misleading subjects, especially in marketing emails, because some countries have rules about them.
7. Read it carefully before you send
You are the sender, so any mistake is yours. Assistants can invent a detail, mix up two names, or use a phrase that sounds odd coming from you. Before sending, check:
- Names and titles: spelled correctly and addressed to the right person.
- Facts: dates, times, amounts, links and attachments match what you meant.
- Promises: nothing you are not ready to do.
- Voice: it still sounds like you. If it reads like a template, rewrite a few lines in your own words.
- Placeholders: no leftover text in square brackets.
For anything important, such as legal, medical, financial or job-related messages, treat the draft as a rough start and ask a qualified person to review it.
Protect private information
When you paste an email into an assistant, you share its contents with that service. Remove or replace names, addresses, account numbers, passwords and anything confidential before you paste. A good habit is to write “[Client A]” and “[amount]” in the prompt, then add the real details in your email program afterwards. Check your workplace rules too, because some employers do not allow customer or company information in public AI tools. Our responsible use section covers this in more detail.
Some workplaces and schools also expect you to say when AI helped write a message. If you are unsure, ask.
A quick email checklist
- Know your goal in one sentence before you open the assistant.
- Give the facts, the reader and the length you want.
- Remove private details before pasting anything.
- Ask for one change at a time, such as tone, length or clarity.
- Check names, dates and promises line by line.
- Edit into your own voice, then send it yourself.
Sources and further reading
This guide is written in our own words and is general advice. Features and plans change, so use the official pages below for current details. We last checked them on 28 October 2026.
- Google: Help me write in Gmail
- Microsoft: Draft an email message with Copilot in Outlook