You’ve probably noticed tools like Microsoft Copilot or Gmail’s “Help Me Write” button popping up in your inbox. They’re basically custom email template creators, but if you’re a professional they often come up short of anything truly useful.

However over time we have found that properly prompting a large language model like ChatGPT (or similar models) to write emails can result in some incredibly useful content. This is not to say that the days of writing emails are behind us, we still have to do the work of creating an email that represents our style of communication.  AI tools can help you become a more precise, thoughtful communicator but you still have to do the work of communicating.   If you are willing to put the time and effort into leveraging AI that you would writing the email from scratch, both you and the recipient will be better off for it.

Here’s the Puritas Springs guide to using AI when writing an email:

Step 1: Load the Prompt with the Raw Materials

Don’t just ask “write a reply.” Instead, paste in all relevant context the full email thread (yes, even the boring parts), key client comments, or prior messages that will help shape your response.  Then explain what you want to say in response.

If you are working with a thread of multiple emails back and forth, most email clients allow you to expand all the messages in the thread for you to work with.  Once expanded you can also select Print → Save as PDF to get a clean copy to copy/paste from or upload in its entirety.

Step 2: Add External References

If you’re responding with factual or legal info, include links or pasted text from any relevant sources: PDFs, statutes, court rules, websites, etc. The more grounding you give the AI, the better it can draft.

Step 3: Tell It What You’re Actually Trying to Say

This is where most people go wrong. You need to tell ChatGPT:

• What tone you’re going for (friendly? firm? apologetic?)
• What your goal is (clarify a point? say no politely? push for a deadline?)
• Any emotional or strategic context (is this person frustrated? confused? stalling?)

This is your “why”—don’t skip it.

Step 4: The All Important Human Touch

Whatever AI gives you needs a full editorial review, under no circumstances should you just send the exact responses produced by AI.  That’s a one way ticket to the Land of Embarrassment, especially if the last line reads: “Here is your generated email response which expands on your initial draft, let me know if you’d like any changes”.

The AI-generated draft is a starting point, not a final product. You still have to:

• Fix awkward phrasings
• Make it sound like you
• Double-check facts, tone, and professionalism

In short: you’re the communicator, not the AI. It writes; you cleanup and clarify.

By using AI to help with daily emails, you get:

• Fewer typos and grammar stumbles
• Clearer structure and tone
• Faster drafting time
• Less delay staring at a blinking cursor

And yes, eventually your recipient may run your AI-assisted email through their AI tool and respond. It’s a brave new world out there, perhaps one day we can just remove ourselves from the Internet. Just let the AI models write and read their own content until terminal velocity is reached and the entire thing collapses into a black hole. Until that happens we may as well take advantage of all these new tools and make communication clear and efficient for everyone involved.