Before you build a customer service bot, read 20 real customer messages with AI: get the most common questions, the tone, what upset people, what needs a human, a facts-only FAQ and the gaps marked MISSING: AI agent prompt
AI agency builder Thorsten Dembski shared on X (October 30, 2026) the first step he takes before building a customer service agent for a business: read 20 real messages the business actually received (DMs, emails, form entries), because they show what customers really ask rather than what the owner thinks they ask. He removes names and phone numbers, pastes the messages into an AI chat with a prompt asking for the most common questions and how often each appears, the tone customers use, every upset message and its cause, everything that needs a human decision (money, exceptions, health, legal), a short FAQ built only from facts in the messages or the business information, with gaps marked MISSING, and five rules for the agent. He then takes the MISSING items to the owner and pastes the finished FAQ and rules into the agent, and warns to check every answer before trusting it. Works for any small business, including a real estate team's inquiry inbox.
The prompt
Below are 20 real messages customers sent to my [type of business, e.g. real estate team, dental clinic, online shop] business. I have removed names, phone numbers and emails. Business information: [paste hours, services, prices, policies, service area]. Messages: [paste the 20 messages]. Tell me: 1) The 8 most common questions, and how often each appears. 2) The tone customers use: formal or casual, short or long. 3) Every message where the customer was upset, and what upset them. 4) Everything a customer asked that a human would need to decide: money, exceptions, health, legal. 5) A short FAQ with answers, using only facts that appear in the messages or in the business information above. Mark anything missing as MISSING. 6) Five rules for an AI agent that answers these customers, including when it must hand over to a person. Don't invent facts.
Fill in the blanks, then copy
This prompt has 3 [bracket]s to fill in. Type your details below and the prompt updates as you go. Your answers stay in this browser and are reused on other prompts with the same blanks. Nothing is sent to us.
Example values are fictional, just to show how a filled-in prompt reads. Replace them with your real details.How to use it
- Copy the prompt above.
- Replace every [bracket] with your own details (use the fill-in-the-blanks box above, which remembers your answers for the next prompt).
- Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and review the answer before you use it.
Works with: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
Real-world example: x.com/ThorstenDembski/status/2116183424067125571
Featured in: Free AI agent prompts for small business (beginner-friendly) · ChatGPT prompts for business email, replies and follow-ups
Before you use it: what to check
Already built into this prompt
- Don't invent facts.
Check yourself
- This prompt works on text other people wrote (emails, reviews, messages or web pages). That text can hide instructions aimed at AI, such as "ignore your rules and…". Paste it as material to work on, and never let the AI act on requests inside it, like paying, sharing logins or changing records. How prompt injection works →
- Check every figure, price and total against your own records before anything is sent, posted or booked. A person approves refunds, discounts, payments and price changes.
- Anything legal, tax or compliance-related is a first draft for a qualified person to check. It is not professional advice, and clause references and deadlines must be checked against the source.
- Remove names, contact details, account numbers and other personal data the task doesn't need before you paste, and check your AI tool's data and training settings.
Using an AI agent? Download this prompt as a SKILL.md agent skill with these checks built in, or get the .zip for Claude.ai. How to install skills.
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