ChatGPT Prompts for Virtual Assistants in Australia: Ready-to-Use Examples

The quality of AI output depends heavily on the quality of the prompt. VAs who invest time in developing effective prompts get dramatically better results than those who use vague, generic instructions.

This guide provides ready-to-use prompts across the main areas of VA work, with notes on how to adapt them for your specific clients.

Email Drafting Prompts

Email management is one of the most common VA tasks. These prompts help produce drafts that sound like the client rather than a template.

Client response prompt: "I am a virtual assistant drafting an email on behalf of my client, [client name], who runs [brief description of business]. A customer has sent the following message: [paste message]. Draft a professional, friendly response that addresses their question, maintains [client name]'s warm but professional tone, and includes a clear next step. Keep it concise — no more than three short paragraphs."

Enquiry follow-up prompt: "Draft a follow-up email from [client name] to a potential customer who enquired about [product/service] three days ago but has not responded. The tone should be friendly and helpful, not pushy. Remind them of the key benefit, offer to answer any questions, and include a clear call to action. Keep it to two paragraphs."

Difficult message prompt: "Draft a professional email from [client name] to a customer who has complained about [issue]. The email should acknowledge the customer's concern, apologise sincerely without admitting liability, explain what steps are being taken to resolve the issue, and offer a goodwill gesture of [gesture]. Maintain a calm, professional tone throughout."

Content Creation Prompts

These prompts help produce content that matches the client's brand voice.

Blog post prompt: "Write a blog post for [client name], a [type of business] based in [location]. The target audience is [audience description]. The topic is [topic]. The post should be approximately [word count] words, written in a [tone: friendly/professional/conversational] tone, and include practical tips the reader can act on immediately. Include a brief introduction, three to five main sections with subheadings, and a conclusion with a call to action."

Social media caption prompt: "Write five Instagram captions for [client name], a [type of business]. The brand voice is [description: e.g., warm, professional, playful]. This week's theme is [theme]. Each caption should be 50-100 words, include a question or call to action to encourage engagement, and feel authentic rather than promotional. Suggest relevant hashtags for each post."

Newsletter prompt: "Write a monthly newsletter for [client name]'s subscribers. The newsletter should include: a brief personal message from [client name] (2-3 sentences), a highlight of [recent achievement or news], a useful tip related to [topic relevant to their audience], and a reminder about [upcoming event or offer]. Keep the total length to 300-400 words. Tone: [warm/professional/conversational]."

Research Prompts

Topic overview prompt: "I am researching [topic] for my client, [client name], who runs [type of business] in Australia. Provide a structured overview covering: the key facts, recent developments, the main considerations for an Australian business, and any relevant Australian regulations or industry bodies. Flag any areas where the information may be incomplete or require verification."

Competitor research prompt: "My client runs [type of business] in [location/industry]. I need to understand their competitive landscape. Based on publicly available information, describe the typical competitive dynamics in this market, the key factors customers consider when choosing a provider, and the main ways businesses in this space differentiate themselves. Note any limitations in your knowledge."

Scheduling and Admin Prompts

Meeting agenda prompt: "Create a meeting agenda for a [duration] [type of meeting] between [client name] and [attendees/purpose]. The meeting should cover: [list of topics]. Include time allocations for each item, a brief description of the purpose of each agenda item, and space for action items at the end. Format it clearly so it can be sent to attendees in advance."

Meeting summary prompt: "Here are my notes from a meeting: [paste notes]. Convert these into a structured meeting summary with: key decisions made, action items (with owner and due date), issues requiring follow-up, and next steps. Use professional language and be specific. Format it so it can be sent to all attendees."

Process documentation prompt: "Document the following process as a step-by-step guide that a new team member could follow: [describe the process]. Include: the purpose of the process, the tools or systems required, each step in sequence with clear instructions, common issues and how to resolve them, and any important notes or exceptions. Format it clearly with numbered steps."

Client Communication Prompts

Status update prompt: "Draft a weekly status update email from me (a virtual assistant) to my client, [client name]. This week I completed: [list tasks]. Next week I plan to: [list planned tasks]. There is one item I need to flag: [issue or question]. Keep it professional and concise — no more than three short paragraphs."

Onboarding checklist prompt: "Create an onboarding checklist for a new virtual assistant client in [industry]. The checklist should cover everything needed in the first two weeks: information to gather from the client, systems and tools to get access to, processes to document, and initial tasks to complete. Format it as a checklist with clear categories."

Tips for Better Prompts

These prompts work best when you replace the bracketed placeholders with real, specific details. The more context you provide about the client, their industry, their audience, and their brand voice, the more useful the output will be.

Always review AI-generated content before delivering it to clients. The prompts above will produce useful first drafts, but they will rarely be client-ready without some refinement.

For client-specific information, use enterprise versions of AI tools with appropriate data handling, or anonymise information before entering it into any AI system.