Sales and customer contact
Answering customer questions faster without losing your voice
Reply faster without your customers feeling they're talking to a robot. Let AI draft the first version while you keep your company's voice.
5 min read
Customers expect a quick reply. At the same time, you don't want your emails to sound like a form letter. AI can help you respond faster, as long as you give it your tone and your knowledge.
Start with your own material
An AI tool doesn't know your products, prices or commitments. Give it:
- Your frequently asked questions and the answers you actually give.
- Your delivery, returns and warranty terms.
- Three example replies you're happy with, without customer names.
Put that into the standing instructions of a project or assistant so you don't have to repeat it.
Pin down your tone
Describe in five lines how you sound: formal or informal, brief or detailed, warm or businesslike, with or without humour, and what you'd never say. Add phrases you'd rather not see. Typical AI lines like "I completely understand your frustration" are best ruled out from the start.
A routine that saves time
- Paste the customer's question, without sensitive data if you're on a personal account.
- Ask for a reply based on your material, in your tone.
- Have the AI say which information it couldn't find in your material. That's your checkpoint.
- Edit and send it yourself.
What you don't hand over to AI
- Promises: discounts, delivery dates or exceptions to your terms are your decision.
- Difficult cases: an angry customer or a problem with a legal angle deserves your attention. AI can draft; you read carefully.
- Automatic replies: if you put a chatbot on your website, make it clear that customers are talking to AI and make sure a person can step in quickly.
Exercise
Take five customer questions from last week.
Your answers stay only in this browser.
Prompt to copy
You answer customer questions for [company]. Our tone: [five lines]. Use only the information in the material below. Write a reply of no more than 120 words to the customer's question. Then say separately which information you couldn't find in the material. Don't promise discounts, dates or exceptions.
Material: [paste]
Question: [paste]
