10 copy-paste prompts for this week
By Chris Castleman · Updated October 17, 2026 · 7 min read
These work in any of the main tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. Copy one, replace everything in [brackets] with your own details, and paste it in. If the answer isn't quite right, tell it what to change. That's normal, not a failure.
1. Answer the email you've been putting off
Here's an email from a customer: [paste the email]. I run [your business]. Write a reply that [what you want to say, e.g. apologizes and offers a refund]. Keep it friendly and short, in plain English, and sign it from [your name].
2. This week's social post
I run [your business] in [your town]. Write three short Facebook posts about [this week's news, special or event]. Make them sound like a real person, not an ad. No hashtags, at most one emoji, under 60 words each.
3. Turn messy notes into something you can send
Here are my rough notes from a meeting: [paste notes]. Turn them into a short, clear email to [who] that lists what we decided, who's doing what, and by when.
4. Read the long document for you
Here's a document: [paste it, or attach the file]. Summarize it in five bullet points for a busy small-business owner. Then list anything I need to do, any deadlines, and anything that costs money.
5. Write a job posting
I need to hire a [job title] for [your business] in [your town]. The job: [hours, pay, main duties]. The kind of person who does well here: [a few words]. Write a job posting that's warm and honest, under 200 words, and ends with how to apply: [how].
6. Write down how you do something
I'm going to describe how I [open the shop / close out the register / onboard a volunteer]. Turn it into a numbered checklist a new person could follow on their first day. Here's how I do it: [describe it, as messily as you like].
7. Make a policy readable
Rewrite this in plain English that a customer can understand in 30 seconds. Keep every rule, but drop the legal tone: [paste the policy].
8. Draft a report for your board or funder
I run [organization]. Here's what happened this quarter: [numbers, events, wins, problems]. Draft a one-page update for our [board / funder] with a short summary, three highlights, one challenge and what we're doing about it, and next quarter's goals.
9. Get the spreadsheet formula
I'm using [Excel / Google Sheets]. Column A has [what], column B has [what]. I want [what you want to calculate]. Write the formula and explain it in one sentence.
10. Teach it your voice
Here are three things I've written that sound like me: [paste them]. Describe my writing style in five bullet points. From now on in this conversation, write everything in that style.
Save the style description it gives you. Paste it at the top of future requests, or into your tool's custom instructions, and everything it writes will sound more like you.
Want more like these?
I send one new prompt every Tuesday in A.I. This Week on the South Coast. Sign up at the bottom of the home page. And if you'd like prompts built around your own business, that's part of the hour: book a time.