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Notes

How to use AI to keep up with customer follow-up

2 min read

Someone at a credit union sent this in before a lunch-and-learn I taught in September, where we fixed attendees’ problems live. They talk with members all day, and follow-up was the first thing to slide, because writing each one from scratch takes longer than the conversation did.

So stop writing from scratch. This works for any business that talks with customers all day.

Two lines now, one prompt on Friday

Jot two rough lines after each conversation. Once a week, paste them all in with this prompt.

You help me follow up with customers after I talk with them. I work at [my business].

For each note below, write:
1. A short follow-up email, under 90 words, warm and plain. Mention one specific thing from our conversation. Write [name] where their name goes, and I'll add it before I send.
2. A three-line script for a quick phone call instead.
3. One next conversation worth having with them, and why it fits what they told me. If nothing fits, say so. Never suggest something just to sell it.
4. Anything I should double-check before I send.

Rules: no rates, prices, or promises. Sign the emails as [your name]. It should sound like me, not a form letter.

My notes:

The free version of ChatGPT is enough, and so is Copilot Chat if your office has it. Put the prompt in a Project (a space that keeps your instructions for every chat inside it), so each week you paste in your notes and read what comes back.

Item three does the most work. When we ran it in the room, a sample note read “opened a savings account for her daughter’s college fund, hates the interest on her store card.” It came back suggesting a conversation about that card balance, with a reminder to check what the credit union allows before raising it.

I’d do it Friday around 3. With the notes already written, the whole week’s follow-up takes about fifteen minutes. Anything with a date attached, like a CD coming due, should go out the same day instead of waiting for Friday.

What to leave out

Treat a regular AI chat like a postcard. Leave out account numbers, balances, health details, passwords and anything a customer told you in confidence. First names and the plain facts of the conversation are plenty.

At a bank, credit union, medical office or advisory firm, leave names out too. Write “Member 1” and add the name when you send. If your company has an approved AI tool, use that one.

Let an agent run it

Cowork, the part of the Claude desktop app that does tasks with your files, can run the whole thing on a paid Claude plan.

  1. Keep one notes file in a folder, two lines per conversation, no names.
  2. In the Claude desktop app, start a Cowork task and point it at that folder.
  3. Paste the prompt once. Cowork keeps it with the folder.
  4. Ask for the week’s follow-ups on Friday, or schedule it to run every Friday on its own.
  5. Add the names and read each one. With the Microsoft 365 connector on, it can send them from Outlook once you say so.

At a bank or credit union, check with IT before connecting a work email account.

Who’s the customer you meant to follow up with last week?