Email is the everyday task ChatGPT is genuinely brilliant at. It will write, shorten, soften, formalise, or completely reshape a message in seconds, without ever losing patience.
This guide gives you a small library of copyable prompts for the most common email situations, along with the extra sentences that make each result actually usable.
Key Takeaways
- ✓A good email prompt has four ingredients: the situation, the reader, the tone, and the length.
- ✓Use ChatGPT to draft, shorten, warm up or firm up any email.
- ✓Always read and gently edit the final version. It should sound like you, not like a template.
- ✓Remove personal detail from any email you paste in before asking for help.
The simple pattern behind every good email prompt
Every useful email prompt has the same four ingredients:
- 1.Situation: what has happened, and what you want to happen next.
- 2.Reader: who they are to you, and roughly what tone will land well.
- 3.Tone: friendly, warm, formal, firm, apologetic, appreciative.
- 4.Length: short, under 100 words, three paragraphs, one paragraph.
Add those four and almost every draft will come out close to usable.
Example 1: A friendly email
Situation
You want to invite a friend to lunch for the first time in a while.
Prompt
Write a short, warm email inviting my friend Sue to lunch in Adelaide on a Sunday in October. It has been about six months since we caught up. Suggest one relaxed cafe and offer to book. Keep it under 100 words and sound like a real person, not a template.
Example output (feel)
A short, warm invitation of about 80 words that mentions how long it has been, suggests a cafe, offers to book, and closes with a friendly line.
How to refine
- •Make it a touch shorter.
- •Mention that I am happy to move to Saturday if Sunday does not work.
Example 2: A formal email
Situation
You need to write to your strata manager about a repair.
Prompt
Write a short, formal email to my strata manager asking for an update on the pool repairs that were due to be completed last month. Polite but firm. Ask when the pool will reopen. Under 120 words.
How to refine
- •Add a line thanking them for their earlier update.
- •Slightly warmer, but keep it professional.
Example 3: A complaint
Situation
You were charged twice by your energy retailer.
Prompt
Write a calm, firm complaint email to my energy retailer. The situation: I have been charged twice for last month's bill and my first message a week ago has not been answered. I want a written explanation and confirmation the duplicate charge will be refunded within seven days. Do not include personal details, use placeholders like [ACCOUNT NUMBER] and [DATE].
How to refine
- •Add a sentence saying I will escalate to the ombudsman if it is not resolved within a reasonable time.
- •Shorten by a third.
Example 4: A follow-up
Situation
You emailed a plumber last week and never heard back.
Prompt
Write a very short, polite follow-up email to a plumber I contacted last Tuesday about a kitchen tap. I have not heard back. I want to check whether they are still able to help, and if not, ask them to let me know so I can find someone else. Two short paragraphs.
Example 5: A thank-you
Situation
A neighbour looked after your cat while you were away.
Prompt
Write a warm, three-sentence thank-you email to my neighbour who looked after our cat for two weeks. Mention that we brought back a small gift for her. Sound like a friend, not a card.
Example 6: An awkward request
Situation
You want to ask a neighbour to trim a tree that is blocking your driveway.
Prompt
Help me write a friendly but clear email to my neighbour asking whether they would be able to trim the tree that is starting to overhang our driveway. I want to keep the relationship good and I do not want to sound demanding. Offer to help if that would make it easier.
How to refine
- •Slightly warmer at the start.
- •Add a line offering to split the cost of a gardener if that helps.
Example 7: Making an email shorter
Situation
You have written three long paragraphs and want to say it in one.
Prompt
Rewrite this email so it says the same things in about a third of the length, without losing the warmth. Keep the sign-off. (Paste your draft.)
Example 8: Changing tone
Situation
Your first draft sounds too stiff.
Prompt
Rewrite this email in a warmer, friendlier tone, as if I were writing to someone I have known for years. Keep the facts identical. (Paste your draft.)
Or the other direction
Rewrite this email in a slightly more formal tone. Keep the length. (Paste your draft.)
Example 9: Making the message clearer
Situation
Someone has emailed you something you did not fully understand.
Prompt
Read this email and explain it back to me in plain English in five bullet points. Then draft a short reply that (a) shows I have understood and (b) asks for the two extra pieces of information I still need to make a decision. (Paste the email.)
Example 10: A difficult reply
Situation
You need to say no to a request without damaging the relationship.
Prompt
Help me write a warm, honest email to my nephew declining his request to lend him money. I want to be caring, keep the door open on the relationship, and be firm about my answer. About 120 words.
Privacy when using ChatGPT for emails
Emails often contain personal detail. Before you paste anything in:
- •Remove full names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and account numbers.
- •Replace them with placeholders like "my sister", "the address" or "[ACCOUNT NUMBER]".
- •Do not paste anything that identifies a child.
- •Do not paste confidential work information.
Our guide [how to use ChatGPT safely](/guides/how-to-use-chatgpt-safely) has a fuller checklist.
Editing the final draft
A final tip that separates good email use from great email use: read the draft out loud in your head. Change any sentence that does not sound like you. Even one small edit turns a generic reply into a message that unmistakably comes from you.
What to try next
- •Sharpen your general prompts with [how to write better AI prompts](/guides/how-to-write-better-ai-prompts).
- •See more use cases in [10 everyday things you can use ChatGPT for](/guides/everyday-uses-for-chatgpt).
- •Take the free 3-minute AIQ Quiz to see where you sit.
Example prompts to try
- Write a warm three-sentence thank-you email to my neighbour who looked after our cat for two weeks.
- Rewrite this email in a warmer, friendlier tone. Keep the facts identical. (Paste your draft.)
- Draft a calm, firm complaint email about a duplicate charge on my energy bill. Use placeholders for personal details.
Safety Notes
- •Strip personal details out of any email you paste in for help.
- •Do not paste confidential work information or messages that identify children.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it dishonest to use ChatGPT to write an email?
No, no more than using a template, a card or a spellchecker. You are still the one choosing what to say and to whom. The final draft is yours.
Will the person I email be able to tell it was AI-drafted?
Not if you edit it into your voice. A generic, over-polished draft can read as AI. A short, edited-in-your-tone version will not.
Can I ask ChatGPT to reply as me to lots of emails at once?
You can, but the results are usually better one at a time, with your own edit at the end. Speed is not the same as quality here.
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