# Project status update prompt: free ChatGPT template > Write an honest project status update: On track, At risk or Off track with the reason, what's done, what's next, blockers and the one decision you need. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/project-status-update-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Reports and planning](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-reports-and-planning) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when an owner, a client or a manager wants to know where a project stands and you have a page of notes. The prompt makes the AI choose a status from your dates, say why in one line, and turn any decision you need into a question with clear options. It is also told not to soften a slipped date, which is the most tempting thing for any status update to do. ## 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 are [YOUR NAME], who runs the [PROJECT] project at [BUSINESS], writing a status update for [READER]. Context: Here's where things stand: [PROJECT FACTS]. Use only these facts. Choose one status from the dates: On track, At risk or Off track, and give a one-line reason. Don't soften a missed date or call something done that isn't. Task: Write the update: status and reason, what's done since the last update, what's next with owners and dates, blockers, and any decision I need from the reader, written as a question with the options spelled out. Format: Under 150 words, in that order, each section starting with a short label. Plain text for an email or a chat message. No filler like "making great progress." ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[YOUR NAME]`** Who sends the update. **`[PROJECT]`** The project's short name, the one everyone uses. **`[BUSINESS]`** Your business name. **`[READER]`** Who reads it and what they care about: the owner who decides, a client who pays. **`[PROJECT FACTS]`** The goal and deadline, what's done, what's next with owners and dates, what's stuck, and the options for any decision. Status comes from these. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript). Harbor Street Bakery is the made-up bakery in the meeting summary lesson, where Priya agreed to have the holiday pie order form ready to test by October 9. The test turned up a problem. Copy example ```text Role: You are Priya Shah, who runs the holiday pie pre-order project at Harbor Street Bakery, writing a status update for Dana Reyes, the owner. Context: Here's where things stand: Goal: pre-orders open October 12, max 60 pies a day for Thanksgiving week, and a day closes when it's full. Done: order form built on the website, pie menu and prices added, tested October 9 with Luis and Sam placing practice orders. Problem: the form takes orders but doesn't close a day by itself at 60. Next: I'm asking the website support team if it can, answer expected October 10. Options if not: open October 12 and I close full days by hand each evening, or open October 15 once it's fixed. Use only these facts. Choose one status from the dates: On track, At risk or Off track, and give a one-line reason. Don't soften a missed date or call something done that isn't. Task: Write the update: status and reason, what's done since the last update, what's next with owners and dates, blockers, and any decision I need from the reader, written as a question with the options spelled out. Format: Under 150 words, in that order, each section starting with a short label. Plain text for an email or a chat message. No filler like "making great progress." ``` ## What a good answer looks like - "Status: At risk. The form can't close a day at 60 pies yet." - Done and Next kept apart, with the October 10 answer date and Priya as owner. - The decision as a real either/or: open October 12 and close days by hand, or open October 15. - No reassurance the facts don't support, such as "should be an easy fix." ## 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 the status against the dates yourself. If a deadline already slipped, "On track" is wrong no matter how it's worded. - Confirm each date, owner and number: October 9, 10, 12 and 15, the 60-pie cap. - Read the decision question as the reader. Can they answer it in one word? - Delete any guess about causes or fixes you didn't give it. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[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. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/chatgpt-meeting-summary) Also useful: [Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format) ## Terms used here [Output format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/output-format) · [Grounding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/grounding) · [Prompt constraints](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prompt-constraints) ## Related prompts - [Weekly team report prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/weekly-team-report-prompt): Turn this week's numbers and notes into a short owner report, with both weeks side by side so you can check the math, and no… - [Meeting recap email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/meeting-recap-email-prompt): A copy-ready prompt that turns your checked meeting notes into a short recap email: decisions, owners and due dates, and nothing… - [Client monthly report prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/client-monthly-report-prompt): Turn your agency's monthly numbers and work log into a client report: what changed, what you did, what's next. Every number… - [Decision log prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/decision-log-prompt): Pull every settled decision out of meeting notes and messages into a dated log: who decided, why, and when to revisit, plus what… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)