50 ChatGPT Prompts for Small Business Owners (Copy & Paste)

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The difference between a useless AI answer and a great one is almost always the prompt. These 50 prompts are written for small business owners and organised by job: marketing, sales and email, customer service, operations, and finance and planning.

Copy a prompt, replace anything in square brackets with your details, and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot. They work in all three.

How to get great results from these prompts

Use this simple formula and every prompt gets better:

Role + Context + Task + Format + Rules

"You are a role. My business is what you do, who for, where. Task. Give it to me as format. Rules: tone, length, what to avoid."

Three habits matter more than any single prompt:

1. Give it facts. Your prices, policies, customer types and what makes you different. AI can't know these, so it guesses, and guesses sound generic.
2. Ask for options. "Give me 5 versions" beats "give me one".
3. Push back. Reply "make it shorter", "more casual", "less salesy" until it's right.

Tip: save your business details in ChatGPT's custom instructions so you don't repeat them every time.

Marketing prompts (1 to 10)

1. "Write a 300-word blog post introduction for the topic 'topic'. My audience is describe. Give a title and the question it answers."
2. "Write 5 Instagram captions promoting product/service. Each should use a different angle: a customer story, a behind-the-scenes moment, a tip, a question, and a limited offer. Under 100 words each, end with a clear call to action."
3. "Turn this blog post into a LinkedIn post of about 150 words with a strong first line and a question at the end: paste post."
4. "Write 3 versions of a Google Business Profile description for business in city. Under 750 characters, include main service naturally, friendly tone."
5. "Give me 10 headline options for a landing page selling offer to customer. Focus on the outcome they want, not features."
6. "Write a 30-second video script about topic for TikTok. Start with a hook in the first 2 seconds, give one useful tip, end with a call to follow."
7. "Create a 4-week social media calendar for business. Three posts per week. Include the post type, topic and a one-line caption idea for each."
8. "Act as my ideal customer, describe them. What are your 10 biggest frustrations with problem my business solves? Use the words a real customer would use."
9. "Write an 'About Us' page for business. Story: 2-3 sentences of your real story. Keep it under 300 words, warm, and end with what customers should do next."
10. "Suggest 5 ideas for a free lead magnet my customers, customer, would trade their email for. For each, give the title and a one-sentence description."

Sales and email prompts (11 to 20)

1. "Write a 5-email welcome sequence for new subscribers who downloaded lead magnet. Email 1 delivers it, 2 to 4 give value, 5 introduces offer. Give subject lines and under 200 words per email."
2. "Write a friendly follow-up email to a prospect who asked for a quote 5 days ago and hasn't replied. Short, no pressure, offer to answer questions."
3. "Write a sales email announcing offer with a deadline of date. Use the structure: problem, solution, proof, offer, deadline."
4. "Here's my product description: paste. Rewrite it to focus on benefits, add sensory or specific details, and keep it under 120 words."
5. "Write 10 email subject lines for topic that would get opened. Avoid spammy words and all caps."
6. "Create a script for a 15-minute discovery call with a potential client for service. Include opening questions, how to uncover their budget, and how to close."
7. "Write a polite email asking a happy customer, name, for a Google review. Include the review link placeholder and keep it under 80 words."
8. "Write a re-engagement email for subscribers who haven't opened anything in 90 days. Ask if they still want to hear from us and make it easy to stay or leave."
9. "I sell product for price. Customers often say it's too expensive. Give me 5 honest ways to respond that explain the value without discounting."
10. "Write a LinkedIn connection message and a follow-up message to a job title at a type of company who might need service. Not salesy."

Customer service prompts (21 to 30)

1. "Write a reply to this customer complaint: paste. Apologise sincerely, explain what we'll do, and offer remedy. Calm, human tone."
2. "Create an FAQ page for business with 15 questions customers often ask about topics. Answer each in 2-3 sentences using these facts: facts."
3. "Write 5 saved-reply templates for: order delayed, refund request, how-to question, price question, and thank you for your order."
4. "Rewrite this reply so it sounds friendlier and clearer without changing the meaning: paste."
5. "Write a short, polite message declining a refund request outside our X-day policy, offering an alternative such as store credit/exchange."
6. "Summarise these 20 customer reviews into the top 5 things customers love and the top 3 complaints: paste reviews."
7. "Write a public reply to this negative review that is professional and would reassure future customers reading it: paste review."
8. "Create a short onboarding email for new clients of service explaining what happens next, timelines, and how to contact us."
9. "Write a chatbot welcome message and 5 quick-reply buttons for a type of business website."
10. "Turn these notes from a customer call into a clear summary with action items and deadlines: paste notes."

Operations prompts (31 to 40)

1. "Write a step-by-step standard operating procedure (SOP) for task. Include purpose, who does it, tools needed, numbered steps, and a quality checklist."
2. "Here's how I currently do process: describe. Suggest 5 ways to make it faster or automate parts of it with common tools."
3. "Write a job description for a part-time role at business. Include responsibilities, skills, hours and what makes us a good place to work."
4. "Create 10 interview questions for a role that reveal how a candidate handles real situations, plus what a good answer looks like."
5. "Draft an agenda for a 30-minute weekly team meeting at a small business with X people."
6. "Create a checklist for opening and closing type of business each day."
7. "Write a simple onboarding plan for a new employee's first week at business."
8. "Compare tool A and tool B for a small business that needs requirements. Give a table of pros, cons and a recommendation."
9. "Write a polite email to a supplier asking for better payment terms or a volume discount. We've been a customer for X years."
10. "Turn this messy list of tasks into a prioritised to-do list for this week using urgent/important: paste list."

Finance and planning prompts (41 to 50)

1. "Help me write a one-page business plan for business. Ask me 10 questions first, then write it from my answers."
2. "I want to raise my prices by X%. Write an email to existing customers announcing it, explaining why, and giving notice."
3. "Here are my monthly costs: list. Suggest where a small business like mine could realistically save money."
4. "Brainstorm 10 new revenue streams for business that use the skills and customers we already have."
5. "Create a simple pricing table for 3 packages (basic, standard, premium) for service. Suggest what goes in each and how to name them."
6. "Do a SWOT analysis for business based on this description: description."
7. "Write a polite payment reminder for an invoice that is X days overdue. Firm but friendly."
8. "Help me set 3 business goals for next quarter using the SMART format, based on: current situation."
9. "Explain financial term, e.g., gross margin in plain English with an example for a small type of business."
10. "Act as a business coach. Here's my biggest challenge right now: challenge. Ask me 5 questions to understand it, then suggest a plan."

Prompts that work across every category

Add these follow-ups after any prompt:

• "Make it shorter and simpler."
• "Write it the way I'd say it out loud."
• "What's missing that a customer would want to know?"
• "Give me 3 more versions with different angles."
• "Turn this into a checklist."

Want 250 more?

These 50 prompts are taken from our 300-prompt AI Prompt Pack for Small Business, organised by department with fill-in-the-blank versions you can drop straight into ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot.

Choosing which AI tool to use these with? Read our comparison of the best AI writing tools for small business.

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