Write template replies for common questions
A practical way to use AI for this job in a small business, with a prompt you can copy.
You type the same answers a dozen times a day: opening hours, how to book, what to bring, how payment works. Each time you write it slightly differently, and sometimes you forget a detail.
The prompt
Write short, friendly email templates for these common customer questions: [list]. Each under 100 words, with [square brackets] where I need to personalise.
Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details. Don't paste in anything you wouldn't want stored by the AI provider.
Steps
- List your top 5-10 questions.
- Run the prompt.
- Save them as templates in your email.
- Always personalise the brackets.
A worked example
A Geelong physio clinic's receptionist lists the 10 questions she answers most. Claude drafts a template reply for each, in a friendly tone, with blanks for the patient's name and appointment time. She saves them as Gmail templates (Outlook calls them Quick Parts or My Templates).
Now a reply to 'Do I need a referral?' takes 20 seconds: insert template, add the name, check, send. She also shares the templates with the casual who covers Fridays, so answers are consistent all week.
Where it goes wrong
Templates go stale. When your prices, hours or policies change, update the templates the same day, or you'll be sending wrong information on autopilot. Also check each template still answers the actual question; AI sometimes adds extra information that confuses people.
Time saved
If you answer 20 or more routine messages a day, 20 to 40 minutes a day is a fair estimate. These are my estimates for a typical small business, not measured results.
What it costs (AUD)
Templates are free in Gmail and Outlook. Free AI plans are enough to write them.
The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini handle this fine. If you end up using AI every day, the paid plans are roughly: ChatGPT Plus approx. A$30 a month, Claude Pro approx. A$29 a month billed monthly (US$20, or about A$24 a month if you pay yearly), and Google AI Pro approx. A$33 a month through the App Store. Prices approx., October 2026. Some are billed in US dollars, so your bank may add a foreign transaction fee. Check the vendor's pricing page before you buy.
Australian notes
Health businesses: don't put clinical details in templates, and be careful what you send by email or SMS. If your templates mention cancellation fees, make sure the policy was clear to the customer before they booked, so it's fair under Australian Consumer Law.
Privacy: the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) cover most businesses turning over more than $3 million, plus some smaller ones such as health providers. Even if you're under the threshold, treat customer details with care: strip names, phone numbers and addresses before you paste anything into an AI tool.
Want this to happen automatically? See the step-by-step guide on our sister site: How to set up a social inbox auto-reply bot.
My verdict
Classic time-saver. Templates plus a personal line beats fully automated.
Common questions
How many templates do I need?
Start with your top 10 questions. That usually covers most of your messages.
Won't templates sound robotic?
Not if you add the person's name and one personal line.
Where do I save templates in Gmail?
Turn on templates in Gmail settings (Advanced), then save a draft as a template.
Do this today
Write down the three questions you answered most today. Ask AI for a template for each and save them in your email tool now.
More customer service use cases
Next: Handle an upset customer · All customer service · Want a bot to do this automatically? See bot setup guides.