Library › Productivity AI › Customer support teams
Hand over your open tickets at the end of a shift
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your shift ends in 10 minutes and the next agent needs your open tickets. Write exactly 4 numbered lines, most urgent first by SLA due time, each in the form "#ticket - customer - what's needed - due time". Leave out anything already resolved. Keep it under 80 words and plain text. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Listing everything. The AI hands over all 6 tickets, including ones already solved. Try: Add: "Exactly 4 numbered lines. Leave out resolved tickets."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 80 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 18 words."
- Keeping your note order. The AI follows the ticket numbers, so tonight's deadline sits in the middle. Try: Add: "Sort by SLA due time, earliest first."
- Dropping the key detail. Squeezed for space, the AI drops due times or that a ticket needs approval. Try: Show the shape: "#3410 - Greg Paulsen - enter new address - Tues 6:00 PM"
- Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the team chat. Try: Name the place and the format: "For the team chat. Plain text, no bold or headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets the number of lines
- Sorts by due time
- Drops resolved tickets
- Shows the line shape
- Sets a word limit
Related exercises
- Accept a job offer and confirm the exact terms (Writing AI · Job seekers)
- Announce a new weekend rotation in three clear rules (Productivity AI · Managers and team leads)
- Answer a 'where is my order' email with the real new date (Writing AI · Customer support teams)
- Answer a big discount ask with two priced options (Writing AI · Sales and customer success)
- Answer a buyer's HOA questions from the bylaws (Research AI · Real estate agents)