Most professionals do not need help writing emails. They need help writing emails faster, and getting the tone right on the ones that matter. AI is good at both, as long as you stop asking it for "an email" and start giving it something to work with.
This is a quick-turnaround skill. Once you have a working prompt, most emails take under two minutes.
The tool, and how to set it up
Claude (claude.ai) works well here because it takes instruction precisely and does not pad. If you are in Microsoft 365, Copilot in Outlook is convenient for rewrites on existing drafts. Both are fine. The rest of this guide uses Claude, but the method is the same.
No special setup. Open a conversation and paste in your content. Do not use Projects or any persistent context for one-off emails; keep the session clean.
How to do it
For drafting from scratch:
- Collect what needs to go in the email: the key facts, any decisions, dates, names, what you want the recipient to do.
- Note who the recipient is, your relationship with them, and the tone you are after. "Warm but direct" and "formal, slightly apologetic" are both valid.
- Note the outcome: a reply, a decision, action by a date, nothing (it is informational).
- Paste all of that into the prompt below. Do not ask Claude to "write a professional email." That phrase produces generic output every time.
For rewrites:
Paste the draft you have and tell it specifically what to change. "Shorter, cut the second paragraph, make the ask clearer" works better than "improve this." If the tone needs adjusting, say what it needs to become: warmer, firmer, less apologetic, less stiff.
For the difficult ones:
Chasing someone who has not replied, pushing back on a request, delivering bad news, or saying no cleanly: give Claude the context, what happened before this, and what you want the email to accomplish. Ask it to be direct without being blunt. Then read what it produces as if you were the recipient.
The prompt
You are helping me write a work email. Here is everything you need:
Recipient: [name and role, or just "my manager" / "a client I've worked with for two years"]
Relationship: [e.g. "direct report", "external supplier, formal relationship", "colleague I know well"]
Situation: [what has happened, what the email is responding to, any relevant background]
Key points to include:
- [bullet 1]
- [bullet 2]
- [bullet 3]
Outcome I want: [what I want the recipient to do or know after reading this]
Tone: [e.g. "direct and warm", "firm but polite", "apologetic but clear on next steps", "concise, no small talk"]
Write a draft. Plain language, no filler phrases, no corporate-speak. Keep it to the length the content actually needs. Do not add pleasantries I have not asked for. Do not end with "please do not hesitate to contact me."
Fill in the brackets, paste the whole thing, and read what comes back. If the tone is slightly off, reply with one-line feedback: "a bit warmer in the opening" or "cut the last two sentences." It adjusts quickly.
How to QA it
Before you copy it into your email client, read it once for accuracy and once for tone.
Accuracy checks: Look at every fact, name, date, and commitment in the draft. AI will occasionally invent a specific deadline you did not mention, or assume a follow-up you did not imply. If it says "as we discussed on Tuesday" and there was no Tuesday meeting, that is a problem. Check every claim that sounds specific.
Tone check: Read it aloud. If it sounds like you wrote it, good. If it sounds like someone who has read too many business books, strip the abstractions. Common AI-generated phrases to delete: "I hope this finds you well," "please do not hesitate," "I wanted to reach out," "as per my previous email," "going forward." Also watch for a closer that turns a simple request into a motivational statement. Cut it.
Commitment check: The classic failure is an email that confidently commits to something you did not intend. "I will have this to you by Friday" when you said "aiming for Friday." "We are happy to cover costs" when you said "we might be able to." Read with that lens.
How to stay safe
Do not paste confidential content into consumer tools. If the email involves ongoing negotiations, HR matters, personal data, legal disputes, or anything commercially sensitive, use your organisation's approved AI tools instead, or do not use AI for this one. Claude.ai (the free and Pro consumer product) is not a controlled corporate environment. If your organisation has a Claude for Work deployment or Copilot via Microsoft 365, those are appropriate for more sensitive content. When in doubt, draft it yourself.
Watch over-promising. AI writes confidently. That confidence can bleed into commitments. You are the one signing the email, so any promise in it is yours.
Names and titles. If you paste in a name and role, check the draft used them correctly. Hallucination is rare here, but a misspelled name or wrong title in an email to that person is embarrassing.
One last read before sending. AI-drafted emails are not finished emails. They are a first draft you happened to get quickly. Treat them accordingly.
Start with something you have been putting off. A tricky reply, a chase you have been avoiding. Paste your bullets, describe the recipient, run the prompt. The writing is not the hard part, and now it does not need to be.