Explaining Your Packages and Prices in Clear Messages

Never ask an AI tool what to charge. Give it your price list and ask it to explain that list in plain words, so that every figure in the final message traces back to something you wrote. The figures stay yours.

Why the figures are the risky part

A language model predicts likely words. It doesn't look up your prices. Wikipedia reports that Meta described hallucinations in its chatbot as "confident statements that are not true".¹ The OAIC adds that generative AI is probabilistic, so false output is a known risk.²

For a photographer the damage is easy to picture. A message promises an extra hour, a free print or a lower fee you never offered. The client then holds you to it.

Build a price sheet the tool can use

Before you open the tool, write a plain price sheet. One block per package. Include:

• The package name, in the words you use.
• The price, with the currency and whether tax is included.
• What's included: hours, number of edited images, travel, prints.
• What costs extra, and how much.
• The deposit and when the balance is due.
• How long the quote stays open.

If you work in more than one country, name the currency in every figure. Tax rules and consumer rules about showing prices differ by country. For those, go to your own official consumer or tax body rather than a chatbot.

Tell the tool what it may not do

A prompt is the text you give the tool. Wikipedia describes the craft of writing prompts as "structuring natural language inputs".³ Be strict in that structure.

Try wording like this: "Using only the price sheet below, write a friendly message explaining the packages. Copy every figure exactly as written. Don't round, add discounts, add extras or suggest a package that isn't listed. If something is missing, write CHECK HERE instead of guessing."

The CHECK HERE trick helps. It turns a silent guess into a visible gap.

Ask for layouts, not new numbers

Tools do well at formatting. Ask for:

• A short paragraph for each package.
• A small table with package, what's included and price.
• A "what's not included" line, using only what you listed.
• A plain-English version of your terms, which you then compare with your real terms.

Here is how a table might look in a message.

Check the draft line by line

Don't skim. Put your price sheet beside the draft and tick off each item, one at a time, as if you were proofreading a contract.

• Every price matches your sheet, with the right currency.
• Every "included" item is on your sheet.
• No new words like "free", "bonus" or "special offer".
• Deposit and payment dates match your terms.
• Nothing claims great value unless you can show it.

Plausible wording is the trap here. Wikipedia notes that these tools can embed "plausible-sounding random falsehoods" in their output.¹ A neat sentence isn't a checked one.

Before you pay for any tool

• Does it let you save your price sheet as a standing instruction, so you don't paste it each time?
• Can it flag text that didn't come from your sheet?
• What does the maker's pricing page say, and what date is shown on it?
• Does your plan keep what you paste in? Check the maker's privacy page.

Keep client names out of the prompt. Add them yourself when you send. Privacy questions go to your national privacy regulator, not to a chatbot.