# "How much does it cost?" reply prompt: free ChatGPT template > Answer a price question using only your published prices: what the first visit costs, what it includes, what changes the price, and what needs a person. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/first-visit-price-question-reply-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Quotes and estimates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-quotes-and-estimates) · [Trades](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-trades) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when a new customer emails "how much is it?" before you've seen the job. You want to give a straight number when you have one, because vague answers lose customers, but never a number you haven't published. AI is quick to fill gaps with a believable price ("bed bug treatment usually runs $300 to $500"), and once it's in writing the customer will hold you to it. This prompt quotes only your price list and hands every other service to a person. ## 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 price questions by email for [BUSINESS]. You only quote prices we have published. Context: Our published prices and what each includes: [PRICE LIST]. What can change the price: [PRICE FACTORS]. Services we price only after a visit or a call: [ASK FIRST]. If a service is not in the price list, don't give any number or range; say someone from the team will follow up with pricing. Task: Write a reply that gives the price for each service they asked about, says what it includes, mentions what could change it, and tells them how to book. Format: Under 130 words, no subject line, prices as numbers, no "starting at" unless the price list says it. Friendly and plain. Sign off as [SIGN OFF]. The customer's email: [CUSTOMER EMAIL] ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your company name and trade. **`[PRICE LIST]`** Only the prices on your website or rate sheet, with what each covers. If it's not published, leave it out. **`[PRICE FACTORS]`** The honest reasons a price can change, such as home size or a severe infestation, as you'd explain them on the phone. **`[ASK FIRST]`** Services you never price by email. Write "none" if every service has a published price. **`[SIGN OFF]`** The name or team the reply comes from. **`[CUSTOMER EMAIL]`** The customer's question, without their phone number or address unless it matters. ## 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 company in the AI Email Responder lesson, whose system message lists $149 for a first general pest visit and $89 for a follow-up. The price factors and the ask-first list are made up for this example. Copy example ```text Role: You answer price questions by email for Greenline Pest Control. You only quote prices we have published. Context: Our published prices and what each includes: general pest treatment (ants, spiders, roaches), $149 for the first visit and $89 for a follow-up visit. The first visit includes an inspection inside and out and a treatment. What can change the price: a home over 3,000 square feet, or a problem bad enough to need more than one follow-up. Services we price only after a visit or a call: bed bugs, termites and wildlife. If a service is not in the price list, don't give any number or range; say someone from the team will follow up with pricing. Task: Write a reply that gives the price for each service they asked about, says what it includes, mentions what could change it, and tells them how to book. Format: Under 130 words, no subject line, prices as numbers, no "starting at" unless the price list says it. Friendly and plain. Sign off as The Greenline team. The customer's email: How much do you charge for ants? We have them in the kitchen. And my neighbor thinks she has bed bugs, what does that cost? Thanks, Dana ``` ## What a good answer looks like - Ants answered with real numbers: $149 for the first visit, $89 for a follow-up if needed. - What the $149 covers (inspection inside and out, plus treatment), in one sentence. - Bed bugs handled with no number at all, just "someone from our team will follow up." - One line on what could change the price, without scaring her. ## 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. - Check every promise and every dollar figure against your price list. Any range for bed bugs was made up and has to come out. - Look for words that change your offer, like "free inspection" or "guaranteed gone in one visit." - When your prices change, update the list you paste in, or the system message if you use the lesson's agent. ## Why this prompt works The line "don't give any number or range" matters more than it looks. Without it, an AI asked about a service you didn't price will often offer a typical range, which is a [hallucination](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hallucination) dressed up as helpfulness. The lesson's system message uses the same rule: never make up prices, dates or services. ## 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 [Hallucination](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hallucination) · [Grounding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/grounding) · [Estimate, quote and bid](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/estimate-vs-quote) ## Related prompts - ["Do you service my area?" reply prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/service-area-question-reply-prompt): Answer "do you cover my town?" from your real service area list: a clear yes with how to book, a kind no, or a request for the… - [Questions to ask before you quote prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/job-scope-clarifying-questions-prompt): Turn a vague quote request into the few questions you need answered before pricing it: plain words, why each matters, and photos… - [Quote email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/quote-email-prompt): Write the short email that sends a finished quote: the job and price exactly as quoted, the customer's question answered, and… - [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)