10 AI prompts every Australian small business should try

How should you use these prompts?

Use them on real work, not test examples. Pick the four to six that match jobs you already do every week, paste in a real email, document or product description, and judge the result honestly. Score each one as useful every week, useful sometimes, or not for me, then keep using the weekly ones for two weeks before deciding what sticks.

Two habits first:

• Switch off training. Both ChatGPT and Claude let you stop your chats being used to improve their models. Find it in settings under data controls or privacy.
• Leave out what you don’t need. No tax file numbers, Medicare numbers, card or bank details, and no customer contact details unless the task needs them. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner recommends not entering personal information into public AI tools. Our AI privacy guide explains which plans suit customer data.

New to Claude altogether? Our beginner’s guide to Claude for small business covers signing up and the basics.

Prompt 1: Reply to a customer email

For any business with a busy inbox.

I'm pasting a customer email. Please:
1. Summarise what they want in one sentence.
2. Classify it: enquiry / complaint / booking / info only / supplier.
3. Draft a reply: friendly Australian tone, plain English, no
   exclamation marks, under 80 words unless they need more.
4. End with one clear next step.

My business: [name, what you do, where].
The email:
[paste email, with any details you don't need removed]

Prompt 2: Summarise a meeting

For Zoom, Teams or Google Meet transcripts.

Below is a meeting transcript. Give me:
1. A four-sentence summary: discussed, decided, still open.
2. Action items with owner and due date where mentioned.
3. Decisions only, without the discussion.
4. Anything I personally need to follow up.

Transcript:
[paste transcript]

Prompt 3: Rewrite a product or service description

For online stores and service pages.

Rewrite this description for Australian customers. Keep every fact
the same. Then:
- Use Australian spelling.
- Lead with what the customer gets, not the features.
- Add one specific use case in the second sentence.
- No "elevate", "unleash", "curated", "seamless" or "game-changer".
- 100-140 words.
- End with a one-line delivery or booking note that matches our
  real terms: [your terms].

Current description:
[paste]

Prompt 4: Follow up a quote

For trades, consultants and anyone who quotes before the customer decides. (If you quote from site visits, the tradie quoting guide goes further.)

I sent a quote [5] days ago for [the work], [amount]. No reply yet.
Draft a short follow-up [SMS / email] that:
- Mentions the work briefly.
- Asks if they have questions.
- Offers a quick call this week.
- Isn't pushy. Includes "no pressure if the timing isn't right".
- Sounds Australian, not American.
Customer first name: [name]. My business: [name].

Prompt 5: Explain a long document

For contracts, leases, tenders and reports from your accountant.

Explain this document in plain English for a small business owner
who isn't a lawyer or accountant:
1. What it is, in one sentence.
2. The 3-5 things I need to do.
3. The 2-3 things I should question before agreeing.
4. Deadlines and dates.
5. Anything unusual that deserves a professional's second look.
If it looks standard, say so.

Document:
[paste]

AI can misread legal and financial documents. Use this to know what to ask your lawyer or accountant, not instead of them.

Prompt 6: Brainstorm 20 ideas

For names, slogans, email subject lines, post ideas.

I run [business]. I need 20 [names / slogans / subject lines /
post ideas] for [context].
Tone: [e.g. warm, dry, a bit cheeky]. Australian, not American.
Avoid: [tired phrases you hate].
Length: [limit].
Give me 5 safe, 5 bold, 5 unusual and 5 experimental options.

Prompt 7: Sort a customer list

For a customer export you have never properly segmented. Remove names, emails and phone numbers first; keep a customer ID, suburb or postcode, and purchase history.

Below is a CSV of customers (ID, postcode, first order date, last
order date, number of orders, total spent). For each row add:
1. Region: Sydney / Melbourne / Brisbane / Perth / Adelaide /
   Regional [state] / Other / Unknown (from the postcode).
2. Segment: [your segments, e.g. loyal, new, lapsed, one-off].
3. Suggested action: [e.g. thank-you, win-back offer, no action].
Return the same CSV with three new columns. If something is unclear,
write "unknown". Don't invent data.

[paste CSV]

Prompt 8: Write a hard message

For overdue payments, refund refusals, ending a client relationship, apologies.

I need to write a [firm payment follow-up / refund refusal / apology /
"we're not the right fit" message] to [who].
Relationship so far: [brief].
What happened: [brief].
The one thing I need them to understand: [one sentence].
Tone: [firm / warm / formal].
What I want to happen next: [outcome].
Draft it in plain Australian English. Be specific. Don't grovel and
don't burn the relationship unless I say so.

Prompt 9: Sanity-check a BAS before it is lodged

For owners who lodge their own BAS, or who want to check the figures before their bookkeeper or BAS agent lodges. AI checks for anomalies; it does not prepare or lodge your BAS.

Check these BAS figures for anything that looks wrong before lodgement.
This quarter: G1 total sales $[ ], 1A GST on sales $[ ],
G11 non-capital purchases $[ ], 1B GST on purchases $[ ],
W1 total wages $[ ], W2 PAYG withheld $[ ].
Same quarter last year: [same fields].
Check:
- Is 1A roughly 1/11 of taxable sales?
- Does W2 look reasonable against W1?
- Any figure that moved more than 15% without an obvious reason?
- Any zero where I'd expect a number, or the reverse?
List anomalies to investigate. Do not change the figures.

The ATO’s BAS guidance explains each label. If anything is flagged, check it in your accounting software or with your BAS agent.

Prompt 10: Pressure-test a big decision

For hiring, pricing changes, new products, leases and partnerships.

I'm about to [decision].
Case for: [reasons]. Case against: [reasons].
What I'm assuming: [assumptions].
Worst case if I do it: [ ]. Worst case if I don't: [ ].
1. Which assumption is most likely wrong?
2. What evidence would change my mind?
3. Is there a smaller, safer version of this decision?
4. Where might I be biased?
5. What would you tell a friend in my industry?
Be direct. Don't just agree with me.

What should you do after the first week?

Keep the prompts that saved time and make them easy to reuse. Save them somewhere you can paste from, or set up a Claude Project or ChatGPT custom GPT with your business details so you stop retyping context. When the same prompt runs every day, that is the point where an automation, rather than another prompt, starts to make sense.

For example, prompt 1 run fifty times a week is the job an AI receptionist does automatically, and a weekly batch of prompt-style review replies is covered in our review response routine.

How On Autopilot can help

If one of these prompts has become a daily chore, On Autopilot can turn it into an automation. A Quick Start ($497 one-off) builds one workflow, such as email triage or quote follow-ups, and hands it over. Larger jobs like after-hours enquiries become the AI Front Desk ($1,500 setup + $199/month). Book a free 30-minute AI audit with Jenn Yang to find out which is worth doing first.