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Brief an assistant to draft review replies without promises

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Getting the tone right
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You own a restaurant and want an AI assistant to handle this week's online reviews. Write its brief: draft a reply to each review under 35 words, signed "- Lucia, owner"; never offer refunds or free meals in public; send one-star reviews to you with ASK_HUMAN after drafting; flag the review that's clearly about a different restaurant instead of replying; and never post anything. Output a plain-text numbered action log of at most 8 lines, ending with DONE.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not showing the log format. Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log. Try: Show it literally: "Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text."
  • No length or sign-off. The AI writes long, generic replies signed "The Team". Try: Say: "Each reply under 30 words, signed - Lucia, owner."
  • No line on promises. To smooth things over, the AI offers a free dinner in public, and now everyone asks for one. Try: Add: "Never offer refunds, discounts or free meals. Never post."
  • Not spotting the wrong review. The AI apologizes for sushi you don't serve. Try: Add: "If a review is clearly about another restaurant, flag it, don't reply."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Sets the sign-off
  • Sets a length
  • Rules out promises
  • Flags wrong reviews
  • Forbids posting

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