12 ChatGPT Prompts Every Office Worker Should Save

Most people use AI assistants like a search box: a short question, a generic answer, and back to doing the work by hand. The difference comes from the prompt. Below are 12 prompts for everyday office work that you can copy, fill in and save.

They work in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Microsoft Copilot. Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details, and never paste confidential company or customer data into a tool your company has not approved.

Emails

1. Reply to an email

Here is an email I received:
"""
[paste email]
"""
Write a reply that [agrees / politely declines / asks for more time].
Professional and friendly, under 100 words. I am [name], [job title].

2. Make a draft more polite (or more firm)

Rewrite this so it sounds more polite but still clear about the deadline.
Keep it under the same length: [paste your draft]

3. Follow up without sounding pushy

I sent a proposal to a client 7 days ago and got no reply. Write a short,
friendly follow-up that adds one useful point: [point]. Under 70 words.

Meetings

4. Turn rough notes into minutes

These are my rough notes from today's meeting:
"""
[paste notes]
"""
Turn them into: a 3-line summary, a table of action items (Task, Owner,
Deadline) and open questions. If an owner or deadline is not in the notes,
write "Not decided".

The last line matters. It stops the AI from inventing owners and dates nobody agreed on.

5. Prepare for a meeting

I have a meeting with [who] about [topic]. My goal is [goal]. List the 5
questions they are most likely to ask me, and a one-line answer for each
based on these facts: [facts].

Reading and summarising

6. Summarise a long document

Summarise the text below for a busy manager: a 2-line summary, the 5 most
important points, and any decisions or deadlines with the exact line
they come from.
"""
[paste text]
"""

7. Explain something in simple words

Explain [concept, clause or policy] to someone with no background in it.
Use one everyday example and keep it under 120 words.

Reports and updates

8. Weekly status update

Turn my notes into a weekly update for my manager. Sections: Done,
In progress, Blocked (with what I need), Next week. Max 3 bullets each.
Do not add anything that is not in my notes.
"""
[paste notes]
"""

9. Turn numbers into a short story

Here are this month's key numbers compared with last month: [paste].
Write 3 bullet points for a director: the main trend, the biggest change
with numbers, and one suggested action. Use only these numbers.

Always recalculate any percentage the AI mentions. Small number mistakes are common in summaries.

Excel

10. Get a formula

Excel for Microsoft 365. Sheet "Sales": A = Date, B = Customer, E = Amount,
rows 2 to 800. Write a formula for H2 that totals Amount for the customer
in G2 for October 2026. Explain each part in one line.

Our free AI for Excel course shows how to check AI formulas properly.

Difficult messages

11. Say no without damaging the relationship

A colleague asked me to take on [task] this week, but I am fully booked
with [priority]. Write a short, kind message that says no, explains why
in one sentence, and offers [alternative].

12. Respond to a complaint

A customer complained that [problem]. The cause was [cause]. Write a calm
reply that apologises once, explains briefly without blaming anyone,
offers [solution] and gives a clear next step with a date. Under 120 words.

How to make these prompts even better

Add your role and audience. "I am an accounts executive writing to a long-term client" changes the tone completely.
Give real details. The more facts you include (dates, amounts, names of products), the less you have to edit.
Refine instead of restarting. Reply with "shorter", "warmer" or "add a line about the discount" rather than writing a new prompt.
Save what works. Keep your best prompts in one note with blanks for the parts that change.

A quick word on safety

AI drafts are a starting point. Before you send anything:

Check every name, number and date against the original.
Make sure nothing confidential went into a public AI tool.
Read it once as the person receiving it.

Want to go deeper? Our free course AI for Everyone teaches the four-part prompt formula behind every prompt on this page, and Prompt Writing That Works shows how to build your own reusable prompt templates.