AI in the trades, 29 October 2026
ChatGPT prompts for tradespeople, and their limits
The best ChatGPT prompts for tradespeople give it your facts and ask it to write, not to know. Tell it the job, your price, your terms and who it's for, and it will draft a clear quote, chaser or reply in seconds. Don't ask it for prices, quantities or building regs without checking every figure: that's where it goes wrong.
Why do some prompts work and others don't?
ChatGPT predicts sensible-sounding text. Give it the facts and it arranges them well. Ask it to supply the facts and it fills the gaps with something that sounds right, which may be last year's price or a regulation that doesn't say what it claims.
Many trade owners already use it daily, some for almost everything. Others are more cautious:
I've started using ChatGPT to price jobs.
Pricing is exactly where you need your own numbers in the prompt. See why ChatGPT gets your quotes wrong for the reasons.
What should you tell ChatGPT first?
Set it up once. In ChatGPT you can save standing instructions, or paste this at the start of a chat. It saves you repeating yourself and stops it writing like an American marketing department.
You are helping business name, a trade, e.g. heating and plumbing business in town, UK, with number people. Write in plain British English, short sentences, friendly but professional. Use UK spelling. No exclamation marks. Our labour rate is £ per day or hour. We mark up materials by %. Prices are plus VAT / VAT not charged. Our standard exclusions are: e.g. making good and decorating, asbestos, work to existing pipework not shown on the quote. Our payment terms are: e.g. 25% deposit, balance on completion, 14 days. Never invent prices, quantities, product specs or regulations. If you need a figure I haven't given you, ask me for it. Sign off as your name, phone.
Which prompts are worth copying?
These cover the jobs owners told us eat their evenings. Replace everything in double brackets.
1. QUOTE WRITE-UP Turn these notes into a clear quote description for a homeowner. Keep my prices exactly as given. List what's included, then exclusions, then payment terms. Notes: paste notes or voice note transcript 2. QUOTE WITH OPTIONS Write this quote as three options: basic, recommended, premium. Show each option's total separately, not added together. Explain the difference in one line each. Prices: £ for each. 3. EXCLUSIONS From this job description, list the exclusions and assumptions a trade should state on the quote to avoid disputes. Mark any you're unsure apply. Job: description 4. QUOTE FOLLOW-UP Write a short, polite WhatsApp message following up a quote sent 7 days ago to name for job. Ask if they have questions. No pressure. 5. INVOICE CHASER Write a firm but polite email chasing invoice number for £ amount, due on date, now number days overdue. Ask for payment by date. Don't threaten legal action. 6. REVIEW REPLY Write a two-sentence reply to this Google review. Thank them, mention the job type, no sales talk. Review: paste review 7. RAMS FIRST DRAFT Draft a method statement for task at site type. List the steps in order and the hazards at each. I will add site-specific details and have it checked. Don't cite regulations unless you name the exact document. 8. TENDER ANSWER Answer this tender quality question in under 300 words using only these facts about us: facts, projects, accreditations. Question: paste question 9. VARIATION NOTE Turn this site note into a variation for the client to approve: what changed, why, extra cost £, extra time days. Note: paste 10. SUPPLIER EMAIL Write an email to merchant asking for prices and lead times on this list, delivered to postcode by date: paste list
Prompt 2 matters more than it looks. A multi-option quote that adds every option into one total can give a homeowner a nasty shock. Ask for separate totals. More in quotes with options.
What does a good prompt change?
Here's the same job asked two ways. The weak prompt leaves ChatGPT guessing; the strong one gives it what it needs.
A combi swap: vague prompt against full prompt
Vague: "Write a quote for a new combi boiler." Strong: notes with your price, model, flue run, exclusions and terms.
| Price in the answerSupplied by ChatGPT, not you | A made-up "typical" range |
| ExclusionsGeneric or none | Missing |
| Price in the answerYour figure, unchanged | £2,950 + VAT |
| ExclusionsYour standard list | Included |
| Time to a sendable draftPaste, read, fix one line | About 3 minutes |
Where are the limits?
ChatGPT doesn't know your overheads, your merchant's prices this week, or what's on the drawing. It can be wrong about building regulations and standards, and it says so in the same confident tone either way. A property developer who'd used it for 18 months told us they'd "noticed hallucinations" and were constantly pasting screenshots in.
Is a prompt library enough?
For a sole trader with a few quotes a week, often yes. ChatGPT Plus is 20 US dollars a month, as of October 2026. The limit is the copying: every answer still has to be pasted into your template, sent, filed and chased by you. When that copying is the bulk of your admin, a tool that does the sending for you is a different job. See what AI costs against what it replaces.
Where Nexley fits
Nexley is the AI back office for UK trade firms: five AI assistants run your tenders, quotes, buying, scheduling and invoicing. It connects to the tools you already work in, you run it all from WhatsApp, and you approve everything. £799 a month.
Nexley does the jobs these prompts start, without the copying. Your rates, exclusions and terms are set once; you send a voice note or photo on WhatsApp, and it drafts the quote on your template, chases it at the intervals you choose, and files it to the job. You approve anything before it goes out.
Common questions
What's the best ChatGPT prompt for a quote?
One that includes your price, the job notes, your exclusions and your payment terms, and tells it not to change any figures. The quote write-up prompt above does that.
Can ChatGPT price a job for me?
It can lay out the sum if you give it your labour rate, materials prices and overheads. It can't know your costs or current merchant prices, so don't let it supply them.
Does this work in Claude or Copilot too?
Yes. These prompts are plain instructions and work in Claude, Copilot or Gemini. See Claude vs ChatGPT vs Copilot.
Can I paste a drawing or a photo?
Paid plans accept images and files. It can describe what it sees, but measurements from a photo or a scaled PDF need checking by you.
Sources
- OpenAI Help: What is ChatGPT Plus?
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT Business FAQ
- GOV.UK: Data protection and your business
Every rule, rate and date above was checked against these sources on the date shown at the top.
Topic: AI in the trades
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