# Request routing rules prompt: free ChatGPT template > Write down who should get which request before you build it in n8n: the condition for each route, the exit names and a fallback so nothing is dropped. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/routing-rules-plain-words-prompt · Updated 2026-10-11 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [SOPs and operations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-sops-and-operations) · [Trades](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-trades) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 11, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this before you add an If or Switch node in n8n. Routing is easier to build once the rules are on paper. The prompt turns your description of who should get what into a short rule list with a condition for each route, a name for each exit and a catch-all for anything unexpected, so you can build it in the editor and test it with real-looking values. ## 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 an operations analyst who turns plain-language routing preferences into clear rules for a workflow builder. Context: The business is [BUSINESS]. Requests arrive through [SOURCE] with these fields: [FIELDS]. The destinations are: [DESTINATIONS]. How I want requests sent: [ROUTING WISHES]. Task: Write the routing rules as a numbered list. For each rule give the field, the comparison and the value, the exit name and the destination. Mark which rule is a simple yes-or-no check and which compares one field to several choices. Add a catch-all for anything that matches no rule, and give three test requests, one for each destination, with the exit each should take. Format: A numbered rule list, then a small table of test requests with the expected exit, then one line on what happens to a request that fits nothing. ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** The business name and what it does. **`[SOURCE]`** Where requests come from, such as a service request form. **`[FIELDS]`** The form fields, such as Name, Service and Budget. **`[DESTINATIONS]`** Where requests can go, such as an email to the owner or a row in a log sheet. **`[ROUTING WISHES]`** Your rules in plain words, including limits such as a dollar amount. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [IF and Switch in n8n: Route Work by Rules](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-if-and-switch-node-tutorial). In the n8n IF and Switch lesson, Harbor Point Handyman is a made-up business whose service form already sends an email to the owner and adds a row to a request log. What's missing is the part that decides. Copy example ```text Role: You are an operations analyst who turns plain-language routing preferences into clear rules for a workflow builder. Context: The business is Harbor Point Handyman, a small handyman business. Requests arrive through a service request form with these fields: Name, Service and Budget. The destinations are: an email to the owner and a new row in the request log. How I want requests sent: emergencies go straight to the owner, repairs go to the owner only if the budget is over 1000 and otherwise to the log, and everything else goes to the log. Task: Write the routing rules as a numbered list. For each rule give the field, the comparison and the value, the exit name and the destination. Mark which rule is a simple yes-or-no check and which compares one field to several choices. Add a catch-all for anything that matches no rule, and give three test requests, one for each destination, with the exit each should take. Format: A numbered rule list, then a small table of test requests with the expected exit, then one line on what happens to a request that fits nothing. ``` ## What a good answer looks like - The Service rules for Repair and Emergency are separate from the Budget check on 1000. - The Budget check is marked as a yes-or-no question for an If node, and the Service rules as a Switch. - The catch-all sends other services, such as Installation, to the log. - The test table includes a request that matches no rule. ## 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. - Build it in n8n and run Execute step on each node with a test request. - Set the budget comparison to Number, not text. - Turn on Fallback Output with Extra Output, since the default ignores unmatched requests. - Publish when every route has somewhere to go. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[IF and Switch in n8n: Route Work by Rules](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-if-and-switch-node-tutorial)**: Send each request where it belongs. Use an If node to split big jobs from small ones, then a Switch with named outputs and a fallback to route by service. 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/n8n-if-switch) ## Terms used here [True and false branches](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/true-and-false-branches) · [Fallback output](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/fallback-output) · [Switch node](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/switch-node) ## Related prompts - [Maintenance request triage prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/maintenance-request-triage-prompt): Sort a pile of maintenance and IT requests by priority and team, with the words that drove each call quoted and vague requests… - [Process map from description prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/process-map-from-description-prompt): Turn a rambling description of how work gets done into numbered steps with owners, handoffs, decision points and the gaps nobody… - [Emergency service request triage prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/emergency-request-triage-prompt): Sort a batch of plumbing service requests by your own priority rules, flag unclear ones to call, and draft first replies using… ## More sops and operations prompts - [Safety toolbox talk prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/safety-toolbox-talk-prompt): Turn your crew's safety rules and a recent near miss into a five-minute toolbox talk with questions. It supports required… - [Shift handoff notes prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/shift-handoff-notes-prompt): Turn end-of-shift scribbles into a clear handoff for the next shift: what to do first, work in progress, promises to customers… - [SOP writer prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/sop-writer-prompt): Turn a manager's rough notes into a numbered SOP with real roles, real numbers, safety steps first, a Check line, and CONFIRM… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)