Module 5 · Lesson 5.1

AI Emails That Sound Like You

3 min read · Updated

Email is where AI writing gets noticed fastest. Your colleagues know how you write. When a two-line request suddenly arrives as four polished paragraphs with "I hope this message finds you well", they notice. This lesson covers how to get real help from AI on email without sending something that doesn't sound like you.

What goes wrong with AI email

AI-drafted emails fail in a few consistent ways:

  • Too long. A request that needs two sentences gets two paragraphs.
  • Too polite. Warm openers and closers you'd never use, like I hope this email finds you well and Please don't hesitate to reach out.
  • The point is buried. The actual request appears in the third paragraph.
  • Wrong relationship. The same tone for your closest colleague and a new client.

A better email prompt

Give the model the things it can't know: who the person is to you, what you need, and how you normally talk to them.

Draft an email from me to [name], who is [relationship: e.g. a client I've worked with for two years / my manager / someone I've never met]. What I need: [the one thing you want them to do or know] Deadline or date, if any: [date] Context they already have: [what they know] Tone: [e.g. the way I'd talk to them in person: friendly, direct, no small talk] Rules: Under [80] words. Put the request in the first two sentences. No "hope this finds you well", no "don't hesitate to reach out", no exclamation marks. End with the next step, not a pleasantry.

If you've built a voice brief for work email, paste it on top. It'll do more than any tone description.

The email cutting checklist

Run through this before you hit send. Most AI emails lose a third of their length.

  1. Delete the opening pleasantry, unless you'd really say it to this person.
  2. Move the request or main point to the first sentence.
  3. Delete any sentence that repeats context the reader already has.
  4. Delete the closing offer to help further. If they need you, they'll reply.
  5. Check names, dates and numbers yourself. AI gets these wrong more often than anything else.
  6. Read it as the recipient. Would they notice it doesn't sound like you?

Before and after

AI draft · 70 words Hi Sam, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to reach out regarding the upcoming quarterly report. As you know, it is crucial that we ensure all figures are accurate before submission. Would it be possible for you to provide the updated sales data at your earliest convenience? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. Best regards
Edited · 27 words Hi Sam, could you send me the updated October sales numbers by Thursday? I'm finishing the quarterly report Friday morning and that's the last gap. Thanks, Priya

The edit gives Sam a month, a deadline and a reason, in a third of the words. It also sounds like a person who works with Sam, which the draft never did.

Replying with AI help

For replies, paste the email you received and add one line about what you want to say: "Yes to the meeting, but not before 2 p.m., and ask if Dev can join." Without that line, AI replies tend to agree to everything and summarize the original email back to the sender.

Before pasting work email into an AI tool, check your company's rules about confidential information. Some workplaces only allow approved tools. Lesson 7.2 covers using AI writing at work.
Try this

Draft three emails you need to send today with the prompt above. Run the cutting checklist on each and note the word count before and after. If you're not cutting at least 25%, your prompt needs a lower word limit.