Email to task list prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when a thread has grown to five messages and the real requests are buried in it: a question from Tuesday nobody answered, a document someone says they sent, a deadline mentioned in passing. Before you write a reply, get the list of what is actually owed, with the exact words that asked for it. Then the reply, or the email thread summary prompt for your team, starts from a complete list.
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: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are my assistant at [BUSINESS], turning emails into a to-do list for [WHO DOES THE WORK]. Context: Below is an email thread, oldest message first. A task is something someone asked us to do, something we promised, or a question we haven't answered. Only list what the emails say, and don't add deadlines or rules from outside the thread. If no deadline is written, put "No date given". Task: List every task and mark each as done, open or overdue, based on the dates in the thread. Then note anything we can't do or shouldn't promise, so I handle it carefully in my reply. Format: A table with the columns Task, Asked by, Date asked, Due, Status, and the exact words from the email. Most urgent first. Under the table, a short list titled "Be careful with". Here is the thread: [EMAIL THREAD]
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name and what you do.
[WHO DOES THE WORK]- You, or the person the list is for. It decides whose tasks these are.
[EMAIL THREAD]- The whole thread, oldest first, with names and dates. Remove account numbers, tax IDs and passwords before you paste.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Reply Faster to Clients Chasing Their Refund: ChatGPT for Tax and Bookkeeping Firms. Northgate Tax & Bookkeeping is the made-up firm in the accounting Reply Faster lesson. Before replying to Greg, Priya wants a list of everything his thread is asking for.
Role: You are my assistant at Northgate Tax & Bookkeeping, a small tax and bookkeeping firm, turning emails into a to-do list for Priya. Context: Below is an email thread, oldest message first. A task is something someone asked us to do, something we promised, or a question we haven't answered. Only list what the emails say, and don't add deadlines or rules from outside the thread. If no deadline is written, put "No date given". Task: List every task and mark each as done, open or overdue, based on the dates in the thread. Then note anything we can't do or shouldn't promise, so I handle it carefully in my reply. Format: A table with the columns Task, Asked by, Date asked, Due, Status, and the exact words from the email. Most urgent first. Under the table, a short list titled "Be careful with". Here is the thread: Greg Alvarez (Sun, Sep 13): I uploaded everything for our 2025 return to the portal tonight. Can you let me know once it's filed? Priya at Northgate (Tue, Sep 15): Got them, thank you. We're still missing two forms: the 1099-INT for your savings account and the 1099 from your brokerage account. Greg Alvarez (Thu, Sep 24): Didn't I already send the brokerage one back in August? Also we switched banks last month. Can the refund go to the new account? I can email you the numbers. Greg Alvarez (8:52 AM): Following up AGAIN. When are we getting our money? I need an actual date, our tuition payment is due Nov 1.
What a good answer looks like
- Open rows for the August brokerage question and the new bank account, both asked Sep 24 and never answered, marked overdue.
- "Tell Greg when the return is filed" as a promise still owed, with "No date given."
- The two missing forms as tasks waiting on Greg since Sep 15.
- "Be careful with" naming the refund date (the firm can't promise one) and the offer to email bank numbers.
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: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Count the question marks in the thread and match each to a row. Unanswered questions are what clients remember.
- Check every date against the thread. "Asked Sep 24" must really be the Sep 24 message.
- Look for anything from outside the thread, like a filing deadline. Greg's Nov 1 tuition date is his deadline, not a promise of yours.
- Never paste account numbers or tax IDs into a chat. If the thread contains them, remove them first.
Practice it in the free lesson
Reply Faster to Clients Chasing Their Refund: ChatGPT for Tax and Bookkeeping Firms: A client wants a refund date while two tax forms are still missing. Give ChatGPT the thread and your firm's facts, catch the date it shouldn't promise, and send a calm, clear reply from Gmail. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT
Terms used here
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