Setting up custom instructions for your business
Most ChatGPT accounts let you set custom instructions that apply to every conversation — your market, your role, your tone preferences, and things you don't want it to assume. Setting this up once saves you from repeating context every time.
A good custom instruction includes your title, general market area, the kind of clients you work with, and a note on tone (for example, plainspoken and not overly salesy). It should also say what to avoid, like inventing statistics or using superlatives.
- State your role, market area, and typical client type
- Specify your preferred tone in a sentence or two
- Tell it explicitly not to invent numbers, comps, or legal advice
Five use cases worth starting with
New users often try to use ChatGPT for everything at once and get discouraged when some of it doesn't work well. It's better to master a handful of dependable use cases first.
The strongest starting points are ones with low risk and a clear source of truth: you provide the facts, ChatGPT provides the structure and phrasing.
- Drafting routine client emails from a few bullet points
- Rewriting a stiff or overly formal message into something warmer
- Summarizing a long document you paste in directly
- Turning meeting notes into an action list
- Brainstorming multiple headline or subject-line options
Reviewing output for accuracy and compliance
Every AI draft needs a human read before it's used, no exceptions for client-facing material. That read should check three things: is it factually accurate, does it sound like you, and could any phrase create fair housing risk.
Fair housing issues are subtle — AI can produce language that implies who a home is or isn't suited for, especially with loosely worded prompts about neighborhoods, schools, or families. This is a compliance issue, not a style preference, and it's worth a specific check every time.
What not to put into an AI tool
Confidential client information — financial details, off-market listing terms, anything under an NDA — should not go into a general AI tool unless you understand exactly how that platform stores and uses your inputs. Assume anything you type could be retained.
Also avoid asking AI for legal or tax advice and passing it along as your own guidance. It can explain general concepts, but specific advice belongs with an attorney or accountant, not a chatbot.
- No client financial or contract details
- No off-market or confidential deal terms
- No requests for specific legal or tax advice to relay to clients
Where to start
The fastest path to comfort with ChatGPT is a small, low-risk starting point, not a full rollout across your business.
- Write your custom instructions in one sitting today
- Pick one email type to draft with AI this week
- Build a simple checklist for reviewing output before sending
- Decide as a team what information is off-limits to type into AI tools