# How to Write an SOP with ChatGPT (Prompt and Template) > Record someone explaining the task, paste the transcript, and ask ChatGPT for numbered steps with owners and checks. A prompt that doesn't invent steps. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/write-an-sop-with-chatgpt · Updated 2026-10-24 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) Quick answer To write an SOP with ChatGPT, have the person who does the task explain it out loud while it's recorded or transcribed, paste that transcript under a four-part [prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prompt), and ask for numbered steps with who does each one and how to check it was done right, with "Not stated" wherever the explanation skipped something. Then have someone new follow the draft and fix where they got stuck. You can practice the two skills this uses for free: the four-part prompt in [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) and turning a transcript into structured notes in [Summarize a Meeting Transcript](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript). Last updated October 24, 2026 [Take the free module →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-at-work/6)Module 6 of the free [AI at Work: Start Here](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-at-work) course, about 8 minutes. No account needed. By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 24, 2026 · Updated October 24, 2026 · 6 min read ChatGPT · Operations · Office This guide is for office and operations managers who need the "only Dana knows how to do that" tasks written down. ## What is an SOP? A standard operating procedure is a written set of steps for doing a recurring task the same way every time. The glossary entry on SOPs adds the part that makes one useful: a good SOP says who does each step, in what order, and how to tell it was done right. Good candidates in a small office: opening and closing, [onboarding a new client](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/customer-onboarding), month-end tasks, processing a refund, receiving a delivery, setting up a new employee's accounts. ## Why not just ask ChatGPT to "write an SOP for X"? Because it will write a generic one, full of steps that sound right and aren't yours. [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) shows the same thing with a customer email: the vague prompt comes back "long, generic and full of blanks," and the four-part prompt comes back "specific, short and ready to send." An SOP has a worse failure mode than an email. A generic email is obviously generic. A generic SOP looks official, gets filed, and the first person who follows it finds the step that doesn't match how your office works. The fix is to give ChatGPT your real process as the source, and tell it to use only that. ## How do I capture the real process? Have the person who does the task explain it while doing it, and get a transcript. A few ways: - **A recorded call or meeting.** Many meeting tools, such as Google Meet, can save a transcript. - **Voice memo plus transcription.** Talk through the task at your desk. - **Typed notes.** Slower, but fine for short tasks. Ask them to say the boring parts out loud: which folder, which button, what they check before moving on, and what they do when something looks wrong. Those details are the SOP. ## What prompt turns the transcript into an SOP? Use the four parts from the lesson, Role, Context, Task and Format, and the "Not stated" rule from the meeting summary lesson. A template: ```text Role: You are an operations assistant at [BUSINESS], writing a standard operating procedure. Context: Below is a transcript of [NAME], who does this task every [FREQUENCY], explaining how they [TASK] while doing it. Task: Turn it into an SOP with these sections: 1. Purpose (one sentence) 2. Who does it and when 3. What you need before starting (tools, logins, files) 4. Numbered steps, each starting with a verb, using the exact names of buttons, folders and fields mentioned 5. How to check it was done right 6. What to do if something goes wrong 7. Open questions: anything the transcript skipped or was unclear about Format: Plain language, short steps, no more than one action per step. Only use what's in the transcript. If something isn't stated, write "Not stated" instead of guessing. [paste here] ``` The **Open questions** section is the most valuable part. It's ChatGPT's list of everything your expert didn't say, which is exactly what a new person will trip over. ## Try it free, step by step **Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format**. Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-writing-101) [Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) ## How do I check a ChatGPT SOP draft? Give it to someone who has never done the task and watch them follow it. Wherever they stop and ask a question, the SOP needs a line. Then: 1. Answer the **Open questions** and any "Not stated" items, in one message: "Step 4: the folder is Shared Drive > Clients > Current. Step 7: Priya approves refunds over $200." 2. Ask ChatGPT to update the SOP with those answers and keep everything else the same. 3. Have the expert read it once for accuracy. This is the same move as the meeting summary lesson, where two due dates come back **Not stated** and you fill them in with one sentence. You know the facts; ChatGPT does the formatting. ## Where should I keep the SOP and the prompt? Keep the SOP wherever your team already looks, such as a shared drive folder or your team's wiki, and keep the prompt in a prompt templates document. [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) ends by saving its prompt in a Google Doc called **Prompt Templates**, with blanks like **[BUSINESS]** and **[DETAILS]** left to fill in next time. Do the same with the SOP prompt so each new procedure takes minutes. Put a "last reviewed" date at the top of each SOP. Processes change, and an out-of-date SOP is worse than none. ## Should I paste anything sensitive into ChatGPT for this? Leave out passwords, account numbers and customer details. An SOP should say "log in to the bank portal," never the login itself. If a transcript includes private information, remove it before pasting, and follow your company's policy on AI tools. [Is It Safe to Paste Client Emails into ChatGPT?](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/is-it-safe-to-paste-client-data-into-chatgpt) has more on what to keep out. ## What other office tasks does this method work for? Anything someone already does well but nobody has written down: a training checklist, a client onboarding email sequence, a close-out checklist. The same capture, prompt and test loop works for each. [AI for Office Managers](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/ai-for-office-managers) maps a whole week of office tasks to free lessons, and the [operations industry page](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/industry/operations) lists lessons for operations teams. ## Key takeaways - An SOP is a written set of steps for a recurring task, including who does each step and how to check it was done right. - A vague "write an SOP for X" prompt produces a generic procedure that doesn't match your office. - Record the person who does the task explaining it, and paste the transcript under a Role, Context, Task and Format prompt. - Ask ChatGPT for an Open questions section and "Not stated" for gaps, then fill them in yourself. - Test the draft with someone new, update it, and keep passwords and customer details out of both the SOP and the prompt. ## Frequently asked questions **Can ChatGPT write an SOP from scratch?** It can write a generic one, but it won't match how your business works. Give it a transcript or notes from the person who does the task. **How long should an SOP be?** As long as the task needs and no longer. One action per step and short sentences matter more than the total length. **What format should an SOP use?** Purpose, who and when, what you need, numbered steps, how to check it, what to do if it goes wrong. Use the exact names of buttons, folders and fields. **How often should SOPs be updated?** Whenever the process changes, and at least on a regular review date you put at the top. Ask whoever follows it to flag steps that no longer match. ## Where can I go next? If the same report or process repeats weekly, a Claude skill can hold it. See the [5 steps to a Claude skill for your weekly report](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/5-steps-claude-skill-weekly-report) and the [repeat report skill interview prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/repeat-report-skill-interview-prompt). ## Free lessons in this post - [Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. - [Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript): Paste a long meeting transcript into ChatGPT and get the decisions, an action items table with owners and due dates, and a follow-up email ready to send. ## Watch it in a free lesson: Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT ### A messy meeting in, clear next steps out with ChatGPT Full walkthrough · 3:00 · with captions Paste a long meeting transcript into ChatGPT and get the decisions, an action items table with owners and due dates, and a follow-up email ready to send. [Watch it with chapters and the full transcript](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript#watch) From the free lesson [Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript) ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. Standard operating procedure (SOP) · [Prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prompt) · [Customer onboarding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/customer-onboarding) · [Action items](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/action-items) · AI literacy · [AI note-taker](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-note-taker) · AI summarization · [Canned response](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/canned-response) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Related prompts - [Action items table prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/action-items-table-prompt): Paste a meeting transcript or rough notes and get a table of every task, owner and due date, with "Not stated" wherever nobody… - [Buyer inquiry reply prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/buyer-inquiry-reply-prompt): Reply to a buyer's listing inquiry from your facts sheet: fees, rules and showing times, with sources instead of opinions on… - [Event invitation email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/event-invitation-email-prompt): A ChatGPT prompt for an event invitation that puts the date, time, place, cost and RSVP up front and repeats them in a Details… - [Feedback conversation script prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/feedback-conversation-script-prompt): Plan a short, direct feedback talk with a teammate: the specific moment, why it mattered, a question to hear their side and one… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) ## Visual guides The same ideas as quick visual guides: swipe through the slides, or read each one as text. - [Summarize a meeting transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/meeting-recap-steps): A meeting transcript is useful for about five minutes, and then nobody reads it again. - [Meeting notes myth: “summarize this” is all ChatGPT needs](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/summarize-this-myth): Myth: paste a transcript, type “summarize this”, done. Fact: ask for the decisions, an action items table with owners and dates, and open questions. - [A copy-and-paste ChatGPT prompt for customer emails](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual/prompt-template-customer-email): Save this one. It's the customer email prompt from Prompt Writing 101. Role: You are the owner of [BUSINESS]. [All visual guides](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/visual) ## Keep reading - [How to Learn AI from Scratch: The Order That Works](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/how-to-learn-ai-from-scratch): Learn AI for work in the right order: prompts first, then real tasks with a fact check, then simple automation, then agents. Free lessons for each step. - [8 ChatGPT Mistakes at Work (and the Fix for Each)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/chatgpt-mistakes-at-work): Eight common ChatGPT mistakes at work, from one-line prompts to trusting the first draft and pasting card numbers, each with a simple fix. [All blog posts](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog) · [All free tutorials](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content)