Use ChatGPT to write the brief your client should have given you

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Clients rarely give you everything you need. You get a vague email, a few bullet points, and a deadline. No clear objective. No audience context. No success metrics. Just enough information to start working, but not enough to be confident you're working on the right thing.

The real problem isn't the missing information. It's not knowing what's missing until you're halfway through the project.

Instead of guessing, paste the client's notes into ChatGPT and let it turn them into a usable brief while highlighting the gaps, assumptions, and questions that still need answering.

Try this prompt:

You are a senior marketing strategist.

A client has provided incomplete project information. Your job is to turn it into a usable marketing brief while identifying gaps, risks, and assumptions before work begins.

Create the following:

1. PROJECT SUMMARY
- What the client is asking for
- The likely business objective behind the request
- Your confidence level (high, medium, low)

2. TARGET AUDIENCE
- Who this appears to be for
- Their likely needs, motivations, and concerns
- Any assumptions made

3. KEY MESSAGE
- What the audience should think, feel, or do
- Any messaging clues from the client's wording

4. DELIVERABLES & CONSTRAINTS
- Expected outputs
- Deadlines, channels, budget signals, approvals, or other limitations

5. MISSING INFORMATION
- Information needed before work can begin confidently
- Questions I should ask the client
- Prioritise these from critical to nice-to-have

6. RISKS & ASSUMPTIONS
- Assumptions you're making to complete the brief
- Potential misunderstandings or project risks

Raw client input:
[PASTE EMAIL, NOTES, MEETING TRANSCRIPT, OR BRIEF HERE]

Be practical and specific. Make reasonable assumptions where needed, but clearly label them as assumptions.

You'll have a working brief in under a minute, along with a list of the questions that actually matter.

Happy prompting!

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