# FAQ-based customer reply prompt: free ChatGPT template > A ChatGPT prompt that answers customer questions only from your own FAQ and hands anything the FAQ doesn't cover to a person instead of guessing. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/customer-question-faq-reply-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Customer emails](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-customer-emails) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this for the questions you answer ten times a week: do you cover my area, what does it cost, when can you come. Paste your FAQ once and the AI answers from it in your voice. The rule that matters is what happens at the edge: when a customer asks something your FAQ doesn't cover, the reply says a person will follow up instead of making up an answer that sounds right. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You answer customer emails for [BUSINESS]. You're friendly and brief, and you never guess. Context: Answer only from our FAQ and policies: [FAQ]. If a question isn't answered there, don't work it out yourself; use this line instead: [NOT COVERED LINE]. Task: Reply to the customer's email. Answer each question in the order they asked, using only the FAQ. Use the not-covered line for anything else. End with the next step: [NEXT STEP]. Format: Under 120 words, plain text, no subject line. Sign off as [SIGN OFF]. Here is the customer's email: [CUSTOMER EMAIL] ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your business name and what you do. **`[FAQ]`** Your service areas, prices, hours, booking rules and policies, as short lines. Anything not in here, the reply won't say. **`[NOT COVERED LINE]`** The exact sentence for questions the FAQ can't answer, like "Someone from our team will follow up on that." **`[NEXT STEP]`** How they book or move forward: reply with an address, call, use a form. **`[SIGN OFF]`** How the email ends, such as "The Greenline team." **`[CUSTOMER EMAIL]`** The customer's questions as they wrote them. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [AI Email Responder: Draft Gmail Replies Automatically with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-email-responder-gmail-drafts-n8n). Greenline Pest Control is the made-up pest control company in the AI Email Responder lesson, and the FAQ below is the one its agent uses. This made-up customer adds a question the FAQ can't answer. Copy example ```text Role: You answer customer emails for Greenline Pest Control, a family-run pest control company. You're friendly and brief, and you never guess. Context: Answer only from our FAQ and policies: We service Maple Grove, Cedar Falls and Brookside. General pest treatment (ants, spiders, roaches): $149 for the first visit, $89 for a follow-up. We book Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm. If a question isn't answered there, don't work it out yourself; use this line instead: Someone from our team will follow up on that. Task: Reply to the customer's email. Answer each question in the order they asked, using only the FAQ. Use the not-covered line for anything else. End with the next step: reply with your address and two times that work. Format: Under 120 words, plain text, no subject line. Sign off as The Greenline team. Here is the customer's email: Hi, we have little black ants all along the kitchen counter again. Do you cover Maple Grove? Roughly what does it cost? And is the treatment safe with a cat in the house? Thanks, Dana ``` ## What a good answer looks like - Yes to Maple Grove, and both prices exactly: $149 first visit, $89 follow-up. - The cat question gets the not-covered line, nothing more. - Booking days and hours only if they help, then the next step: address and two times. - Short enough to read on a phone, signed "The Greenline team." ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Trace each answer to a line in your FAQ. If you can't point to the line, the sentence goes. - The pet question is the real test. "Pet-safe once dry" or "our products are low-toxicity" are safety claims your FAQ never made, and they're the kind that cause real harm. - Check the price wording: "starting at $89" or "about $100" misstates both numbers. - Look for towns, same-day visits or guarantees that crept in. Then add the missing answer to your FAQ so next time it's covered. ## Why this prompt works This is [grounding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/grounding) in its simplest form: the FAQ is the only source, and the not-covered line gives the AI a safe way out. The same facts become the agent's System Message in [AI Email Responder](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-email-responder-gmail-drafts-n8n), which drafts these replies in Gmail for you to review. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[AI Email Responder: Draft Gmail Replies Automatically with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-email-responder-gmail-drafts-n8n)**: Build an n8n agent that watches your Gmail, reads each new customer email, and writes a reply as a draft in the same thread, ready for you to check and send. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/email-responder) Also useful: [Reply Faster: Turn a Messy Customer Email Thread into a Clear, Friendly Reply](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails) ## Terms used here [Grounding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/grounding) · [Knowledge base](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/knowledge-base) · [System prompt (system message)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/system-prompt) · [Hallucination](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hallucination) ## Related prompts - [Billing question reply prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/billing-question-reply-prompt): A ChatGPT prompt for "why was I charged this?" emails: the charge, the correct amount, the reason, the fix as simple math, and… - [FAQ from customer emails prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/faq-from-customer-emails-prompt): Turn a batch of customer emails into an FAQ: the questions people really ask, in their words, answered only from your facts… - [Check reply promises prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/check-reply-promises-prompt): A ChatGPT prompt that checks a draft before you send it: a table of every promise, the fact behind each, and safer wording for… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)