Computing and AI
AI prompts for office work: the method and 10 prompts to adapt
Role, context, task, format, example, constraints: the method for writing a good prompt, then 10 office prompts to adapt, with what to check in every answer.
A good prompt is not magic: it is a clear brief, like the one you would give a capable new colleague who knows nothing about your company or your clients. This article first gives you a simple method for writing those briefs, then 10 prompts ready to adapt to the most common office tasks in Morocco: emails, minutes, Excel, translations, payment reminders, job ads.
They work with the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. Replace everything in square brackets, such as [client] or [date], with your own details, and never paste confidential data.
The method: six elements of a prompt that works
Most disappointing answers come from a request that is too short. "Write up the meeting" leaves the tool guessing who it is for, what tone to use and how much detail to give. So it picks the blandest version. To avoid that, build your request from six elements.
| Element | The question to ask yourself | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Which professional should answer? | "You are an executive assistant at a Moroccan SME." |
| Context | What is the situation, and who is it for? | "The client has been waiting two weeks for delivery." |
| Task | What exactly do I want? | "Draft a reply to their email." |
| Format | In what form? | "An email of 120 words at most, with a subject line." |
| Example | What should the result look like? | "Here is an email we have already sent: [text]" |
| Constraints | What is forbidden or required? | "Do not promise any date I have not given you." |
You do not need all six every time. For a simple task, the task and the format are often enough. The more the result matters, the more context and constraints you add.
Let the AI ask you questions
End your important requests with this sentence: "Before you answer, ask me the questions you need to do a precise job." The tool then asks for what it does not know (the recipient, the goal, the tone, the figures) instead of inventing it. You answer, then it produces the result. It is often the shortest route to an answer close to what you had in mind.
Iterate instead of starting over
A first answer is a draft. Rather than opening a new conversation and rewriting everything, give precise corrections in the same conversation: the tool keeps the context.
- "Shorter: 80 words at most."
- "Firmer tone, but still polite."
- "Keep the second paragraph, rewrite the rest."
- "Show the same thing as a table."
- "What is missing for a manager to make a decision?"
When a version works, save the final prompt in a document. Week after week, you build your own library, tailored to your job.
10 prompts ready to adapt for the office
Each prompt follows the method above. Replace the parts in brackets, add your context and remove what does not apply to you. Before pasting a document, remove names, national ID (CIN) numbers, phone numbers, sensitive amounts and anything confidential: our article on ChatGPT at work and Law 09-08 explains why and how.
1. Summarise a long PDF into a one-page note
When to use it: a circular, a report, a tender specification or an internal memo running to dozens of pages that your manager wants "on one page".
What to check: open the document at the pages cited to check dates, amounts and obligations. A summary can miss an important exception tucked away in an appendix. If the tool rejects a file that is too large, split it into several parts.
2. Reply politely to a difficult email
When to use it: an unhappy client, a late supplier, an irritated colleague. You want to stay courteous without giving ground on the substance.
What to check: commitments (deadlines, discounts, refunds) must match exactly what you can deliver. Read the tone out loud: a phrase that is too curt or too submissive stands out straight away.
3. Turn meeting notes into minutes
When to use it: after a meeting, with scattered notes, half in French, half in darija.
What to check: was each decision really taken, or only discussed? Fill in every "to be confirmed" before sending. Have the minutes approved by whoever chaired the meeting.
4. Write and explain an Excel formula
When to use it: calculating commissions, tracking due dates, matching two lists.
What to check: test the formula on a few rows where you already know the answer. In French-language Excel, function names are translated (SI instead of IF) and arguments are often separated by semicolons: say which version you use. For more on the numbers side, see our guide to AI for accountants in Morocco.
5. Extract a table from a document
When to use it: a price list in a PDF, a statement, a scanned purchase order that you want in a spreadsheet.
What to check: compare the number of rows and the total with the original document. Scanned documents cause errors in figures (an 8 read as a 3, a misplaced decimal point). At the very least, check the largest amounts.
6. Compare two versions of a contract or procedure
When to use it: a partner sends back a "slightly amended" contract, or an internal procedure has just been updated.
What to check: AI can miss a change, especially a figure or an added "not". Reread the sensitive clauses in both versions yourself and have a lawyer approve anything that commits the company. Legal professionals will find more practical cases in our article on AI for lawyers in Morocco.
7. Translate while keeping a professional register
When to use it: a letter written in French that has to go to an administration in Arabic, or an offer to send to a partner in English.
What to check: figures, dates, names and technical terms, one by one. The list of hesitations shows you where to look first. For an official document, have someone fluent in the target language reread it, and find out whether a translation by a sworn translator is required.
8. Draft a payment reminder
When to use it: an unpaid invoice, with a reminder that must stay businesslike without sounding weak.
What to check: invoice number, amount, date and payment details, checked against your software. Any mention of penalties must match what your terms or the contract actually provide.
9. Write a job ad
When to use it: a vacancy to post on a job site, on LinkedIn or in a local group.
What to check: the ad describes the real job and nothing more, the conditions are accurate and the way to apply works. Have it reread by the person who will manage the new hire.
10. Prepare a client meeting
When to use it: before a first meeting with a prospect, or before an important review with an existing client.
What to check: keep the questions that are relevant to your trade and drop the rest. The list of documents must match your actual procedures. Prepare the answers on prices and deadlines yourself.
The 3 most common mistakes
- Giving no context. "Write a reminder email" produces generic text. One minute of context (who, why, what tone, what limits) saves several rounds of back and forth.
- Pasting confidential data. Client names, CIN numbers, salaries, contracts that have not been anonymised: in a public tool, that information leaves your control. In Morocco, Law 09-08 regulates personal data, see our article on ChatGPT at work and Law 09-08.
- Trusting without checking. AI writes with confidence even when it is wrong: an invented figure, a legal article that does not exist, a date copied incorrectly. You remain responsible for what you send.
The checklist before you use an answer
Before you send, print or paste an AI answer into a document, run through this list:
- Figures, amounts, dates and names match the original source.
- Nothing has been invented: no decision, promise, reference or law that did not come from you or the document.
- The tone suits the recipient (client, administration, colleague, management).
- The text answers the original request and stays on topic.
- Every item in square brackets has been replaced.
- No confidential data was pasted into the tool.
- Anything that commits the company (contract, price, disciplinary action, legal or tax advice) has been reread by a competent person.
Building your own prompts
These 10 prompts are starting points. What helps most is building your own, on your real tasks, then turning them into small agents. That is the aim of the AI at work course at the ApexTiz centre in Tiznit: four mornings over two weekends, with the rules, the method and AI in the browser on the first, then connectors, agents and a final project on the second, in groups of 10 at most working in pairs on paid accounts provided by the centre. You leave with your project, a prompt kit and a certificate of attendance.
Frequently asked questions
Do these prompts work with the free version of ChatGPT?
Yes. They work with the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. Free versions sometimes limit file size or the number of messages: split long documents if needed.
Should I write my prompts in French, English or Arabic?
Write in the language you master best and state the language you want the answer in. The tools understand French, Modern Standard Arabic and English well. Written darija is understood better and better, but test it before using it with clients.
Why does the answer change when I ask the same question?
Assistants write a new answer each time. That is why a precise prompt, with a format and constraints, gives more consistent results, and why checking is still necessary.
Can I paste a contract or a client file into ChatGPT?
Not as it is. First remove names, numbers and confidential information, or use a business plan with written commitments on data. Law 09-08 applies to personal data.
How long does it take to write good prompts?
A few practice sessions on your own tasks are enough to build the right habits. The most effective approach is to keep the prompts that worked and improve them as you use them.
Want advice for your case?
Put it into practice in four mornings
The AI at work course: 16 hours at the ApexTiz centre in Tiznit, over two weekends, paid tools provided, connectors, agents and a final project on your own job.