AI for Business·April 21, 2026·4 min read
Three prompts every small business should save this week.
AI tools are only as good as the way you ask. Save these three prompts once, swap in your details, and you've replaced hours of grinding work with a five-minute conversation.
The owners we work with at WBI who get the most out of AI all have one thing in common: they don't reinvent the wheel every time they open ChatGPT. They keep a small library of prompts that are tuned to their business — and they reuse them weekly. Here are three to start with.
01 · Marketing copy
The weekly social post generator.
Stops the blank-page panic every time you sit down to post. Gives you a week of on-brand copy in five minutes.
The prompt
You are my small business marketing copywriter. Business: [one sentence about what you do and who you serve] Voice: [pick 3 words — e.g. warm, plainspoken, confident] Audience: [who is the post for] Goal this week: [drive bookings / promote an event / build trust / etc.] Write 5 short social media posts (under 280 characters each) I can publish Mon–Fri. Mix the formats: 1 story, 1 tip, 1 question for the audience, 1 behind-the-scenes, 1 light call to action. Do not use hashtags or emojis unless I ask. End each post with a single suggested hashtag I can use if I want.
Pro tip: Paste in last month's best-performing post once. The model will match its rhythm.
02 · Customer support
The kind-but-firm reply drafter.
Turns a 20-minute email reply into a 30-second one — and keeps your tone consistent even on a bad day.
The prompt
You are my customer support assistant for [business name]. Here is the incoming message from a customer: """ [paste the customer's message] """ Write a reply that: - Acknowledges what they said first, before solving anything. - Sounds warm, professional, and human — not corporate. - Offers a clear next step or solution. - Stays under 120 words. - Ends with one specific question or call to action. If the customer sounds upset, lead with empathy and avoid the word "unfortunately."
Pro tip: Save your most common reply scenarios (refund, scheduling, complaint) as variants of this prompt.
03 · Bookkeeping
The end-of-month money debrief.
Forces you to actually look at your numbers — and translates them into decisions, not just a report.
The prompt
You are my small business CFO. Here is my profit & loss summary for [month, year]: - Revenue: $[amount] - Cost of goods / services: $[amount] - Operating expenses (rent, software, marketing, etc.): $[amount] - Owner pay: $[amount] - Net profit: $[amount] Compared to last month: [paste 3–5 line summary or differences] Do three things: 1. Tell me in plain English what these numbers actually mean for the health of the business. 2. Flag 1–2 expense categories that look out of line and ask me a clarifying question about each. 3. Recommend one specific action to take this month to improve cash flow or profitability. Do not give generic advice. Be specific to the numbers I gave you.
Pro tip: Run this on the same day every month. Patterns only show up when you look consistently.
Workshops
Want a whole prompt library for your business?
We run hands-on AI workshops at WBI where we build a custom prompt library together — tuned to your industry, your tone, and your actual workflow.
See upcoming workshops