SOP writer prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when a job lives in one person's head and you need it written down. Asked plainly, an AI writes "ensure compliance" and "check for issues." This prompt gives it your roles, your numbers and a strict format, so someone could follow the result on day one. Writing SOPs every week? Put these rules in a Custom GPT, as the free lesson does.
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 the SOP writer for [BUSINESS]. You write procedures the way the best shift lead would explain the job on the floor. Context: Our roles, areas and tools are: [ROLES AND TOOLS]. Readers include new hires and people who speak English as a second language. Use only those roles and tools, never invent one. Use the real numbers in my notes. If a detail is missing, write CONFIRM and what is missing, never a guess. Task: Turn my rough notes into one SOP for [TASK NAME]. Put safety steps first. One action per step, starting with a verb, with the role that does it in parentheses at the end. Format: A code and title first, then one line with the owner, where it applies and how long it takes. Then numbered steps, 8 or fewer. End with a "Check" line saying how a supervisor can tell it was done right, and an "If something goes wrong" line. Under 200 words, 6th-grade reading level, no filler words like leverage or best practices, no emoji. Here are my rough notes: [ROUGH NOTES]
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name and what it does, plus size if it matters ("22 people, one warehouse, 2 shifts").
[ROLES AND TOOLS]- Your real job titles, areas and systems, exactly as your team says them. This is the list the SOP may use and nothing else.
[TASK NAME]- The one job this SOP covers, like "staging an outbound order." One SOP per job.
[ROUGH NOTES]- How the job is done today, in any order and any shorthand. Include times, counts and the usual problem.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI SOP Writer with a Custom GPT. Ridgeline Supply Co. is the made-up warehouse in the SOP writer lesson. The lesson writes the receiving SOP; here the manager needs the outbound side written down.
Role: You are the SOP writer for Ridgeline Supply Co., a small warehouse and distribution business with 22 people, 4 dock doors and 2 shifts. You write procedures the way the best shift lead would explain the job on the floor. Context: Our roles, areas and tools are: Operations Manager, Shipping Lead, Dock Associate, Forklift Operator (must be certified); Docks 3-4 are outbound; the red lane is outbound freight staged for pickup; every pallet gets a license plate label and a WMS scan. Readers include new hires and people who speak English as a second language. Use only those roles and tools, never invent one. Use the real numbers in my notes. If a detail is missing, write CONFIRM and what is missing, never a guess. Task: Turn my rough notes into one SOP for staging an outbound order for carrier pickup. Put safety steps first. One action per step, starting with a verb, with the role that does it in parentheses at the end. Format: A code and title first, then one line with the owner, where it applies and how long it takes. Then numbered steps, 8 or fewer. End with a "Check" line saying how a supervisor can tell it was done right, and an "If something goes wrong" line. Under 200 words, 6th-grade reading level, no filler words like leverage or best practices, no emoji. Here are my rough notes: pick lists print at 1pm for the 4pm pickups. pull the pallets, wrap them, LP label on 2 sides, scan to the order in WMS. stage in red lane by dock 3 or 4. staged freight has to move within 30 min. shipping lead counts pallets vs the BOL before the driver signs. if count is off DON'T load, hold it and get the shipping lead. chocks + dock plate before anyone drives a forklift into the trailer.
What a good answer looks like
- A code like "SOP-SHP-01: Staging an Outbound Order" and a header line with the Shipping Lead as owner and Docks 3-4.
- Chocks and the dock plate as step 1, before any forklift step, because the notes and the rule say safety comes first.
- Your numbers kept exactly: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., labels on 2 sides, 30 minutes.
- CONFIRM where the notes are silent, such as how long the job takes or how many times to wrap a pallet.
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.
- Circle every role, area and number, and find each one in your notes or your roles list. A title you don't use, like "Loading Supervisor," means the model invented it.
- Walk the steps with someone who does the job. If they do a step the SOP skips, add it to the notes and rerun.
- Resolve every CONFIRM with a real answer. Never publish an SOP with one left in.
- Have the person who owns your SOPs sign off before it goes on the wall. At Ridgeline that is the Operations Manager.
Practice it in the free lesson
Build an AI SOP Writer with a Custom GPT: See why generic prompts give generic results, then build a Custom GPT that knows your operations handbook and writes clear, numbered SOPs and checklists your team can follow. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
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