ChatGPT prompts for contractors

How to get good answers

• Give it the facts. Paste your numbers, notes or spec text; ChatGPT writes well but should not invent the details.
• Say who is reading. An owner, a GC's project manager and your crew need different words.
• Set a length. Short drafts are easier to fix than long ones.
• Check every number it repeats. Tell it to keep your figures exactly as written.

Seven prompts

Bid follow-up email

When to use it: A few days after you submit a bid and have not heard back.

Write a short, friendly follow-up email to [GC name] about our [trade] bid for [project name], submitted on [date].
Mention that our number includes [one or two key inclusions] and excludes [key exclusions].
Offer a 10-minute call to walk through scope. Keep it under 120 words, no sales language.

Scope of work narrative

When to use it: Turning your line items into the plain-English scope that goes on the proposal.

Turn these line items into a clear scope of work for a [trade] proposal on [project type].
Group them by area, write in plain sentences a building owner can follow, and end with a list of exclusions.
Line items:
[paste your takeoff rows]

RFI

When to use it: A detail on the drawings conflicts with the spec or is missing.

Draft an RFI to the architect for [project name].
Issue: [describe the conflict, e.g. wall type W3 on A-201 shows 5/8" board but spec 09 21 16 calls for 1/2"].
Reference sheet [sheet number] and spec section [number]. Ask one clear question, propose our suggested resolution, and note the schedule impact if we do not hear back by [date].

Change order explanation for an owner

When to use it: You need an owner to understand why a change costs what it costs.

Explain this change order to a homeowner who is not in construction.
What changed: [describe]. Why it changed: [field condition / their request / code].
Our price: [amount], which covers [labor, material, schedule]. Keep it calm and factual, under 150 words, and end with what we need from them to proceed.

Daily report summary

When to use it: Turning rough field notes into a clean daily report.

Turn these field notes into a daily report with sections for crew and hours, work completed, deliveries, issues and delays, and tomorrow's plan.
Keep my numbers exactly as written. Flag anything that sounds like a potential delay claim.
Notes:
[paste notes]

Scope gap checklist from a spec section

When to use it: Before you price, to see what a spec section expects from your trade.

Read this spec section and list everything it requires from the [trade] subcontractor: materials, submittals, testing, mockups, warranties and coordination with other trades.
Then list items that are easy to miss in a bid. Quote the paragraph number for each.
[paste spec section]

Safety toolbox talk

When to use it: The morning meeting needs a five-minute talk on today's work.

Write a five-minute toolbox talk for a [trade] crew about [hazard, e.g. working from scissor lifts near open edges].
Include three real-world examples of what goes wrong, the controls we use on site, and two questions to ask the crew. Plain language, no jargon.

When the job needs numbers

These prompts deliberately leave the quantities and prices to you. ChatGPT cannot measure a drawing or look up a supplier's price, so for the takeoff and the estimate itself, use a tool built for it. Field24 measures the plans, prices them for your ZIP code and drafts the proposal, and you can run it from inside ChatGPT.

Add Field24 to ChatGPT →