Five tasks AI can take off your hands today
More than half of small business owners in France already use AI, but only one in six uses it regularly. What usually keeps people at “now and then” rather than “every day” is simple: they are not sure what to use it for. Below are five tasks every tradesperson, café owner or freelancer deals with, with ready-made prompts, an example of what tends to go wrong, and how to fix it.
The prompts below work in any popular chatbot — ChatGPT, Mistral Le Chat, Claude, Gemini. Do not paste your clients’ personal data into them: names, phone numbers, bank details (IBAN). Check anything the AI says about laws or deadlines against the original source.
Is it worth starting at all? In Denmark, where businesses use AI more than anywhere else in the EU, 65% of the small and medium businesses that use it say the savings exceeded their expectations. That is no promise it will be the same for you, but it is a sign this is not just a fad: where AI has been built into everyday work, it usually pays for itself.
What a good prompt looks like
The AI knows nothing about your business, your client or your town. If you do not tell it, it will fill the gaps — and you end up with polished text that does not sound like you. That is why every prompt below has square brackets: that is where your own facts go. The prompts are in French because the texts are meant for French clients; if it is easier, write your prompt in English and ask for the answer in French.
1. A polite payment reminder
This prompt asks for a courteous but firm reminder email of five sentences at most, stating the invoice number, amount and due date and offering payment by bank transfer — without quoting any law.
Tu es mon assistant administratif. Je suis [électricien, micro-entrepreneur]. Mon client [une entreprise / un particulier] n’a pas payé la facture n° [2026-014] de [480 €], échue le [15/10/2026]. Rédige un e-mail de relance courtois mais ferme, 5 phrases maximum, qui rappelle le numéro, le montant et la date, et propose de régler par virement. Ne cite aucun article de loi.
What goes wrongThe AI loves to threaten: “conformément à l’article…” (“in accordance with article…”), interest, court. For a first reminder that is too much and damages the relationship. And it may invent the legal references.
How to fix itThe first email carries no threats — the prompt makes that clear. If the client is a business, the second email can mention late-payment penalties and the €40 fixed recovery fee (indemnité forfaitaire): they should already appear on your invoice (the details every invoice must show are covered in point 9 of our guide to micro-entrepreneur surprises). A private client cannot be charged the €40 fee or the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) penalties — only statutory interest (intérêts au taux légal) after a formal notice (mise en demeure).
2. Replying to a Google review
Here the AI writes a three-sentence public reply: thank the client, answer the specific point they raised, invite them back — warm, no stock phrases, no discount promised, in the language of the review, using the formal “vous”, and signed with your first name.
Je tiens un [salon de coiffure à Nantes]. Voici un avis client : « [texte de l’avis] ». Rédige une réponse publique en 3 phrases : remercie, réponds au point précis soulevé, invite à revenir. Ton chaleureux, sans formules toutes faites, sans promettre de remise. Réponds dans la langue de l’avis, vouvoie, signe [prénom].
What goes wrongThe same stock “Merci pour votre retour, nous sommes ravis…” (“Thank you for your feedback, we are delighted…”) under every review. Clients notice, and the reply works against you. With a negative review the AI often apologises for things that never happened, or promises a discount.
How to fix itInsist on a reply to a specific detail from the review. For a negative one, decide first what you actually admit and put that in the prompt: “we really did keep you waiting 20 minutes”. Do not put the reviewer’s name in the prompt: the AI does not need it, and a review being public does not make the reviewer’s data free to use. If the review mentions health or treatment details, remove them. For more on handling reviews, see our Google Business Profile guide.
3. A service description for your website or listing
The prompt asks for an 80-word description of one service built only from the facts you supply, in short sentences and without superlatives or empty words.
Je suis [plombier à Bordeaux]. Rédige la description de mon service [remplacement de chauffe-eau] pour mon site : 80 mots, phrases courtes. Faits à utiliser : [intervention sous 48 h, devis gratuit, marques posées : Atlantic, Thermor, artisan assuré en décennale, garantie pièces 2 ans, à partir de 900 € pose comprise, TVA non applicable]. Pas de superlatifs, pas de « passion », pas d’« excellence ».
(Décennale is the ten-year liability insurance required in the building trades; “TVA non applicable” is the no-VAT wording micro-entrepreneurs put on quotes and invoices.)
What goes wrong“Votre satisfaction est notre priorité” (“your satisfaction is our priority”), “des professionnels passionnés” (“passionate professionals”) — words found on every website that tell the client nothing.
How to fix itGive facts only you know: lead times, a “from” price, guarantees, the area you cover. Ban empty words right in the prompt. And check that the AI has not added promises you never made.
4. A post for social media or your Google listing
This one asks for a 40-word announcement: a hook, the practical details and a call to order by phone, with two emojis at most and no hashtags.
Je tiens une [boulangerie à Lille]. Écris un post court (40 mots) pour annoncer [notre galette des rois, disponible du 2 au 31 janvier, sur commande 24 h avant]. Une phrase d’accroche, l’info pratique, un appel à commander par téléphone. Deux émojis maximum, pas de hashtags.
(The galette des rois is the Epiphany cake sold in January.)
What goes wrongTen emojis, half a page of hashtags and dates you never gave: the AI likes to slip in “this weekend only!”.
How to fix itAll dates and conditions come from the prompt only — check them before publishing. Limit the length and the number of emojis. You can ask for the same post to be rewritten as a short version for your Google listing and a slightly longer one for Instagram.
5. Making sense of an official French letter in a minute
You paste in the letter (with personal data removed) and get an explanation in English in five points: who is writing, what they want from you, the deadline stated in the letter, what happens if you do nothing (according to the letter only), and which documents to prepare. Anything the letter does not say is marked “non indiqué” — not mentioned.
Voici une lettre que j’ai reçue (données personnelles supprimées) : « [texte] ». Explique-moi en anglais, en 5 points : qui écrit, ce qu’on me demande, la date limite mentionnée dans la lettre, ce qui arrive si je ne fais rien (uniquement d’après la lettre), quels documents préparer. Si une information n’est pas dans la lettre, écris « non indiqué ».
What goes wrongThe AI confidently gives a deadline that is not in the letter, or recalculates it “from the date of receipt” by its own logic.
How to fix itAlways find the deadline and the amount in the letter yourself — the AI only helps you understand what is being asked of you. Before pasting, remove your name, address, SIRET and reference numbers. For a step-by-step method of reading and answering such letters, see our guide “Taking on French bureaucracy on equal terms”.
Four rules for all five tasks
- You supply the facts. Anything missing from the prompt, the AI will invent — check figures, dates and promises before sending.
- No personal data. Do not paste clients’ names, phone numbers, IBANs or reference numbers into the chat (our guide “What never to feed an AI” explains why).
- Check the law at the source. The AI can invent article references and deadlines. Check on service-public.gouv.fr or with a professional.
- A second look in a new window. Open a new chat (or a separate agent on a paid plan) and ask it to read the result as a native speaker and your client would: “Point out anything that sounds unnatural, unclear or too salesy.” A fresh look, without the conversation history, catches what the first one missed.
Not sure which tool to use in France? See our comparison of Mistral and ChatGPT. Start with one task out of the five, the one that eats most of your time, and do it with AI for the whole of next week.
Information current as of 15 October 2026. Sources: Eurostat on the use of AI by enterprises; Bpifrance Le Lab, 82nd business climate barometer for small and medium businesses (January 2026, survey of about 4,700 businesses in November–December 2025); Wolters Kluwer on Danish SMEs and AI-driven savings; articles L441-10 and D441-5 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce): late-payment penalties and the €40 recovery fee.
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