Ready-made prompts for work: 8 templates to copy and adapt

A lot of office work repeats itself: answering emails, writing up meetings, reviewing documents and organizing data. These are the tasks where AI helps the most, as long as the request is clear.

The templates below follow the 4 pillars of a good prompt: goal (what you want), context (the situation and who it is for), format (how the answer should look) and limits (what to follow or avoid). Replace everything in brackets with your own details and use them.

Before you start

• Fill in every bracket. A template with an empty [topic] gets a generic answer.
• Do not paste sensitive data. Swap client names, contract values and personal details for examples. See how to use AI at work safely.
• Review before sending. AI speeds up the draft, but you are the one responsible for the text.

1. Professional email

Use it when you know what to say but do not want to spend 15 minutes choosing the words.

Write an email to [recipient and role] about [topic].
Context: [what happened and why you are writing].
The email must include: [point 1], [point 2] and [the next step you expect].
[Friendly and direct / formal] tone. Under 150 words, with a subject line.

Tip: state the next step you expect (“confirm by Friday”, “book a call”). Emails without a clear ask tend to go unanswered.

2. Meeting notes

Paste the transcript or your rough notes and get organized minutes back.

Using the notes below, write the minutes for the meeting about [topic].
Organize into: attendees, main topics, decisions, owners and deadlines, next steps.
Use short bullets and plain language.
If any information is incomplete, mark it as "to be confirmed" instead of guessing.

Notes:
[paste here]

Tip: “to be confirmed” stops the AI from inventing deadlines or owners nobody agreed on.

3. Review a document

Review the text below, which will be read by [audience: leadership / clients / the team].
Fix mistakes, make sentences clearer and keep a professional tone.
After the revised text, list in up to 5 bullets the most important changes you made and why.
Do not change numbers, names or the meaning of sentences.

Text:
[paste here]

Tip: asking for the list of changes helps you learn and check that nothing important was altered.

4. Organize data into a spreadsheet

I have this data: [paste or describe it].
Organize it into a table with the columns [column 1], [column 2] and [column 3].
Then suggest formulas to calculate [total per category / monthly average]
in [Excel / Google Sheets], explaining each formula in one sentence.

Tip: say which program you use. Formula names differ between Excel and Google Sheets, and between languages.

5. Presentation outline

Create the outline for a [length] presentation about [topic] for [audience].
The goal is to [persuade / inform / get approval for something].
For each slide, give: title, main content in up to 3 bullets and what I should say.
At most [number] slides. End with a next-steps slide.

6. Compare options and decide

I need to choose between [option A], [option B] and [option C] for [situation].
What matters most to me is [criterion 1] and [criterion 2]; the budget is [amount or "tight"].
Build a table with pros, cons and risks for each option and end with a recommendation justified in up to 3 sentences.
If information is missing to make a recommendation, say what it is.

Tip: the criteria matter. Without them, the AI weighs everything equally and the recommendation sits on the fence.

7. Internal announcement

Write an announcement for the whole team about [change: new hours, new process, holiday].
Include: what changes, starting when, why, how it affects day-to-day work and who to ask with questions.
Friendly, clear tone. Ready-to-send email format, with a subject line.
Then write a short chat version of at most 3 sentences.

8. Reply to a customer

You are a support agent for a [industry] company.
Reply to the customer message below in a friendly, concise way.
If the solution has steps, explain them one by one.
End by saying what they should do if the problem continues.
Do not promise deadlines or refunds.

Customer message:
[paste here, without personal data]

Tip: “do not promise deadlines or refunds” prevents a friendly reply that commits the company to something it cannot deliver.

One template for almost anything

When none of the above fits, use this structure:

Act as an expert in [field].
My goal is [what you want].
Context: [situation, audience and what matters].
Deliver it as [format: list, table, email, step by step], at most [length].
Rules: [tone, what to avoid, what not to make up].

Turn a template into a complete prompt

If you would rather not fill in brackets, use the Prompt Lab prompt builder. Answer the 4 questions (goal, context, format and limits) and the AI writes the full prompt, ready to copy.