1. The task: answer one messy enquiry
Most business owners do not need a complicated AI project to get value from AI. They need one small task that takes a bit of thought off their plate every day. This guide walks through exactly one such task: turning a messy customer enquiry into a clear draft reply.
You will need a chat assistant. Any well-known AI assistant you already have access to will do, free or paid. You do not need to install anything, create a new account, or buy anything from CortexLeap to use this guide.
2. The enquiry (fictional)
This message is invented for this guide. It is the kind of enquiry most small businesses receive every week: friendly, rushed, and missing half the details a proper reply needs.
Fictional customer enquiry
hi, we spoke a while back about maybe getting some new shelves for the shop, not sure if you still do that kind of thing, my number changed as well, also do you take card now? need it done before the 20th if possible because the stock arrives, thanks, Marta
3. The business facts (fictional)
To answer honestly, the assistant needs to know what the business has actually confirmed. These invented facts are used throughout this guide:
Fictional business facts
Confirmed: we still fit shelving for shops; we take card payments.
Not confirmed yet: the price for this job; whether we are free before the 20th.
4. The prompt
Copy the prompt below into your AI assistant, paste the enquiry and your own confirmed facts where indicated, and run it. Only paste facts you have actually confirmed; anything else belongs in the not-confirmed list.
Adaptable prompt
I received this customer enquiry: [PASTE THE MESSAGE HERE] Confirmed facts about my business: [PASTE ONLY WHAT YOU HAVE ACTUALLY CONFIRMED] Things I have not confirmed yet: [LIST THEM, FOR EXAMPLE: PRICE, AVAILABILITY] Write a short draft reply that: 1. Confirms what the customer is asking for 2. Answers every question my confirmed facts can answer 3. Treats anything not confirmed as something to check, and says so 4. Ends with one clear next step Use plain British English and a friendly, professional tone. Do not invent prices, dates, availability or policies. Treat anything not in my confirmed facts as unknown.
5. The example output
The text below is what the assistant wrote from the enquiry and the confirmed business facts above. It is an illustration, not a real reply, and it is only as good as the facts it was given. Note what it does: it answers from the confirmed facts only, treats the price and the date as things to check, and asks for exactly what is missing.
Example output (illustration)
Hi Marta,
Thank you for getting back in touch. Yes, we still fit shelving for shops, and yes, we take card payments.
I cannot confirm a price or a date yet. To give you either I need the shelf sizes or a photo of the wall, and your new number in case I need to reach you. I also need to check the diary before I can say whether the work can be done before the 20th, so I would rather confirm than guess.
Send me those details and I will reply with a price and a date.
Thanks again,
[Your name]
6. Check before you send
AI drafts are drafts. Read the reply as if a new employee had written it, and run through this checklist:
- ✓ Facts: does every factual claim come straight from your confirmed facts? Anything you told the customer that is not confirmed should be removed or explicitly marked for checking.
- ✓ Missing information: does the reply ask for everything you need before quoting a price or a date?
- ✓ Tone: does it sound like you? Plain and friendly works better than formal or salesy.
- ✓ Unsupported commitments: remove any promise your confirmed facts do not support. If the reply cannot progress without it, say you will confirm it first. Softening an invented claim does not make it true.
7. Try it yourself
Take one enquiry you received this week. If it contains real customer details, replace names, numbers and amounts with invented ones before using it with an AI tool. Write your own confirmed-facts and not-confirmed lists before you run the prompt, then apply the checklist above before sending anything. Finally, note one assumption the assistant made that you had to correct. Noticing those assumptions is the actual skill; the writing is a bonus.
8. Optional next steps
If this task was useful, there are two ways to take it further. The training page has hands-on sessions where we work on your real tasks together. Or book a free 30-minute call and bring one task you would like to try first. There is no obligation to buy anything.