The ChatGPT prompts for small business that work best do three things: they give the model your context (who you are, who the customer is), a clear task, and the format you want back. The 25 templates below follow that pattern. Copy one, replace the parts in [square brackets] and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or any other assistant. They're grouped by job: customer emails, outreach, content, sales, and planning and operations.
Every prompt here is a starting point. Read the output before you send it, check any facts, prices or promises, and adjust the tone to sound like you.
Free from Ahzy Capital (our own product): The AI Agent Cheat Sheet has 24 copy and paste AI setups for 8 types of small business, each with the prompt and the workflow. It's free; Stan asks for your email to send it.
How to get better answers from any prompt
Both OpenAI's prompt engineering guide and Anthropic's prompt engineering overview give similar advice. Put simply:
- Give context first. Say what your business does, who the reader is and what happened.
- Be specific about the output. Length, tone, format (bullets, table, email) and what to leave out.
- Show an example of your own writing when tone matters.
- Ask it to ask. Ending with "Ask me up to 3 questions if anything is unclear" often beats a long prompt.
- Iterate. Reply with "shorter", "warmer" or "remove the jargon" rather than starting over.
One privacy habit: don't paste customer card numbers, passwords or sensitive personal details into a chatbot. On ChatGPT you can turn off model training on your chats in Data Controls, as described in OpenAI's help article.
Customer emails and replies (1 to 6)
1. Reply to a customer question
You are the owner of [business type] called [name]. A customer wrote: "[paste message]". Draft a friendly, clear reply under 120 words. Answer only from these facts: [hours, policy, prices]. If the facts don't cover the question, say we'll check and reply by [time].2. Calm reply to a complaint
A customer is upset: "[paste message]". Draft a reply that acknowledges the problem in one sentence, explains what we'll do next ([your fix]), and avoids blaming anyone. Under 150 words. Don't promise refunds or discounts unless I list them here: [allowed offers].3. Turn a policy into a plain English answer
Rewrite this policy as a short FAQ answer a customer can understand in 20 seconds: [paste policy]. Keep every condition, remove legal jargon, use at most 5 bullet points.4. Follow up on an unpaid invoice
Write a polite payment reminder for invoice [number], [amount], due [date], for [client]. Tone: friendly but clear. Include how to pay: [method]. Write two versions: first reminder and a firmer second reminder.5. Ask for a review
Write a short message asking a happy customer to leave a review after [service]. Personal, under 60 words, with a placeholder for the review link. No incentives or pressure.6. Sort my inbox
Here are subject lines and first lines of [number] emails: [paste]. Sort them into: urgent today, reply this week, delegate, and archive. Give a one-line reason for each urgent item.For a tool that does some of this inside your inbox, see our best AI email assistant guide.
Outreach and partnerships (7 to 10)
7. Cold email to a potential client
I run [business] and help [type of customer] with [problem]. Write a cold email to [name/role at company] under 100 words. One specific observation about their business: [observation]. One clear ask: [15-minute call / reply]. No hype.8. Partnership pitch to a nearby business
Write a short message proposing a partnership between my [business] and [their business], which share customers who [shared trait]. Suggest one simple idea: [referral swap / joint offer / event]. Under 120 words.9. Follow up after no reply
I emailed [name] on [date] about [topic] and heard nothing. Write a brief, friendly follow-up (under 60 words) that adds one new piece of value: [tip, example or link].10. Networking event intro
Write a 20-second spoken introduction for me: [name], [business], who I help, and one memorable example of a problem I solved. Plain language, no buzzwords.Content and marketing (11 to 16)
11. A month of social post ideas
Give me 12 social post ideas for [business] aimed at [audience]. Mix: 4 tips, 3 behind-the-scenes, 3 customer questions answered, 2 offers. One line each, plus a suggested image.12. Write a post from a rough note
Turn this rough note into a [platform] post under [length]: "[note]". Keep my voice: [paste one past post]. End with a simple question for comments.13. Product or service description
Write a description for [product/service] for my website. Who it's for: [customer]. Key details: [features, size, time, price]. 80-120 words, then a 1-sentence version for listings.14. Newsletter from this week's notes
Turn these notes into a short customer newsletter: [notes]. Sections: one update, one useful tip, one offer or event. Subject line options: 3. Under 250 words.15. Repurpose one piece of content
Here is a blog post or video transcript: [paste]. Turn it into: 3 social posts, 1 short email, and 5 FAQ questions with answers. Keep facts exactly as written.16. Simple ad copy variations
Write 5 headline and description pairs for a [platform] ad promoting [offer] to [audience] in [area]. Follow these limits: headline [x] characters, description [y] characters. No claims I can't prove.For editing what the AI writes, our Grammarly vs QuillBot comparison covers the two most common writing checkers.
Sales and closing (17 to 20)
17. Prepare for a sales call
I'm meeting [prospect], a [type of business], about [service]. List the 5 questions I should ask to understand their needs, the 3 objections they're likely to raise, and a short, honest answer to each.18. Write a simple proposal outline
Draft a one-page proposal outline for [client] based on these notes: [notes]. Sections: their goal, what we'll do, timeline, what we need from them, price [I'll fill in], next step.19. Handle a price objection
A prospect said: "[objection]". Suggest 3 respectful replies that explain the value of [service] without discounting. Under 60 words each.20. Post call follow up
Turn my call notes into a follow-up email: [notes]. Summarize what we agreed, list next steps with owners and dates, and confirm the next meeting. Under 150 words.Planning and operations (21 to 25)
21. Weekly plan from a messy list
Here's everything on my plate this week: [list]. I have about [hours] hours. Sort into must-do, should-do and can-wait, estimate time for each, and suggest a day-by-day plan.22. Meeting notes to action items
Turn these meeting notes into: a 3-sentence summary, a list of decisions, and action items with owner and due date: [notes].Our ChatGPT meeting notes guide covers recording and transcribing meetings in more depth.
23. Write a standard operating procedure
Write a step-by-step SOP for [task] so a new staff member can do it alone. Include what they need, numbered steps, common mistakes, and when to ask for help. Based on how I do it: [describe].24. Job post for a part time role
Write a job post for a part-time [role] at [business] in [location]. Duties: [list]. Hours: [hours]. Pay: [range]. Friendly, clear, under 200 words, and inclusive language.25. Review last month's numbers
Here are last month's figures: [paste sales, costs, bookings]. Point out the 3 biggest changes from the month before, possible reasons to check, and 3 questions I should ask myself. Don't invent numbers that aren't in the data.Which assistant to use for these prompts
All 25 work in any major chatbot. ChatGPT and Claude both handle long context and tone well. If you live in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, the assistant built into your email and documents saves copy pasting. If you want prompts to run automatically (for example, drafting a reply to every new inquiry), look at assistant builders such as Lindy or a workflow tool. That's when a prompt becomes an agent. For writing docs and slides with AI, see Claude Docs, Slides and Design.
From Ahzy Capital (our own products, labeled as such): Want more templates like these? The AI Prompt Vault ($27) has 100 fill in the blank prompts across client outreach, AI agent setups, content creation, sales and closing, systems and productivity, and real estate. Or start with the free AI Agent Cheat Sheet. We make and sell both.
FAQ
What are the best ChatGPT prompts for small business owners?
The most useful ones handle tasks you repeat every week: customer replies, follow ups, social posts, proposals and weekly planning. A good prompt gives your business context, a specific task and the output format you want.
Can I use these prompts in Claude or Gemini instead of ChatGPT?
Yes. They're plain language templates and work in Claude, Gemini, Copilot and other assistants. Results vary a little in tone, so adjust the wording after the first try.
Is it safe to paste customer information into ChatGPT?
Share as little personal data as you can. Never paste card numbers or passwords, remove names where they aren't needed, and check your assistant's data settings. On ChatGPT you can turn off model training on your chats in Data Controls.
How do I make ChatGPT sound like my business?
Paste one or two examples of your own writing and ask it to match the tone, word choice and length. Then reply with short corrections such as "more casual" or "less salesy" until it sounds right.
Should AI written emails be sent without checking?
No. Read every draft before sending, especially anything involving prices, policies, dates or promises. AI can state wrong details confidently.
