Email Prompts
Writing Email with AI (Without Sounding Like a Robot)
AI can write emails ridiculously fast—but only if you give it the right constraints. Otherwise you’ll get the classics: overly formal greetings, generic fluff, and paragraphs that say a lot without saying anything.
This guide gives you a simple structure, plus a few reusable prompt templates you can copy/paste for real work (sales, recruiting, exec assistants, engineering, customer support, leadership).
The Email Formula
For 90% of emails, you want: Context → Ask/Action → Details → Close. If the model doesn’t know those, it will ramble.
The “CIDO” Email Prompt
A reliable email prompt includes four pieces:
- Context: who you are, who they are, what happened
- Instruction: what you want the email to do (schedule, confirm, apologize, follow up)
- Data: the facts (dates, links, pricing, constraints, prior messages)
- Output indicator: subject line, length, tone, structure
Example 1: Executive Assistant (Reschedule + Options)
Context: I’m an executive assistant writing on behalf of our CEO. We need to reschedule a 30-minute meeting with an investor due to a conflict.Instruction: Draft a concise rescheduling email that maintains trust and makes it easy to pick a new time.Input Data:- Original meeting: Tue 2:00–2:30pm ET- Conflict: last-minute board prep- New options: Wed 10:00–10:30am ET, Thu 3:00–3:30pm ET, Fri 11:30am–12:00pm ETOutput Indicator:- Provide 2 subject lines- Email body <= 110 words- Tone: warm, professional, respectful- End with a single clear question asking them to choose a slot
Why it works: it forces brevity, provides options, and creates a low-friction next step.
Example 2: Engineer → PM (Status Update That’s Not Chaos)
Context: I’m a software engineer sending a project status update to a PM and stakeholders.Instruction: Write an email that summarizes progress, flags risks, and proposes next steps.Input Data:- Shipped: auth refactor (done), logging improvements (done)- Blocker: vendor API rate limits causing flaky tests- Decision needed: approve $250/mo for higher rate limit tier OR accept reduced test frequency- Deadline: feature demo next FridayOutput Indicator:- Subject line + email body- Body structure: 3 bullets for Progress, 2 bullets for Risks, 2 bullets for Next Steps- Tone: crisp, no jargon, no blame- <= 160 words
This produces an email stakeholders can skim and respond to quickly.
Ask for Two Versions
If the email feels high-stakes, request “Version A (direct)” and “Version B (more diplomatic).” Then you pick the right one for the room.
Copy/Paste Templates (Quick Wins)
1) Follow-up after no reply
Draft a polite follow-up email. Include (1) a one-line reminder, (2) a simple CTA question, and (3) a friendly close.Keep it under 90 words. Tone: calm and professional.Context: [who/what]
2) Customer support resolution
Write a customer support reply that (1) confirms the issue, (2) apologizes briefly, (3) states the fix, and (4) gives the customer one next step.Tone: helpful, confident. Avoid excessive apology. <= 140 words.Issue details: [paste]
3) Recruiting outreach
Write a recruiting outreach email to a candidate for [role]. Personalize using the profile notes.Include: why them (1 sentence), role impact (2 bullets), and a 15-min chat CTA.Tone: human, not spammy. <= 130 words.Profile notes: [paste]
Takeaway
Great AI email writing isn’t about fancy prompts—it’s about clear intent + constraints. Give the model context, the exact job to do, the facts to use, and the output shape you want (subject + tone + length + structure). Do that, and AI stops sounding like a template machine—and starts sounding like you, but faster.