Using AI to Write Thank Yous
I started my research about how to use AI to write wedding thank you notes by providing one of my preferred AI assistants, Claude, with a basic list of information.
- The name of the gift giver.
- Their relationship to me.
- The gift, and a maybe a detail about it like how I planned to use it.
- A memory I have of the giver.
Here’s what that looks like as a prompt:
Write a thank you note for the gift of an electric blender given to us by my Aunt Martha. We use it for making smoothies and for cocktails when entertaining. Seeing her at the wedding brought back memories of my childhood visits to her garden.
Here’s AI’s thank you note wording:
Dear Aunt Martha,
I’m writing to express our heartfelt thanks for the generous gift of the electric blender. It was so kind of you to think of us. The blender has already become a staple in our kitchen for making nutritious smoothies in the morning as well as mixing up fun cocktails when we have company over.
Using the blender reminds me of the happy times as a child when I would visit your beautiful garden and you would make us fresh lemonade and treats. Those summer days spent exploring your lush gardens are such cherished memories. Seeing you at the wedding recently brought back those warm feelings of my childhood visits.
Thank you again for your thoughtful gift. We will think of you every time we fire up the blender! Please give our love to Uncle Robert.
There are a few problems with this. First, it’s way too long. Second, I think the tone is a little too formal. Third, the tool took some liberties with the details, like the shout-out to a non-existent uncle. It seemed as though I needed to provide a little more direction and perhaps some parameters around what I was looking for. After some trial and error, I came up with a few tips that will help you get the most out of an AI assistant.
- Set the length: 2-3 sentences is a good length for a wedding thank you note.
- Set the tone: Warm and informal, for example.
- Trust me, you need to add this one: Mention attendance at the wedding and reception only when mentioned in the prompt.
- If you start getting weird results, it might be because the tool is “remembering” information from previous prompts. Try opening another session and starting fresh.
- Always, always, always review responses carefully!
A Few Things to Note About AI
- If you don’t provide proper direction, it might start to make stuff up.
- Trial and error is key to finding your rhythm with the tool.
- You can provide guidelines and parameters up front so you don’t need to copy and paste everything for every note.
- You can ask AI questions! For example, “What do I need to provide you for you to write my wedding thank you notes?”
Now that we’ve gone over some initial information and additional tips, let’s set up our conversation with the AI tool and see what we get.
Thank You Note Set-Up Prompt:
We are writing thank you notes to people who sent us wedding gifts. The notes should be between 2-3 sentences long, concise and have a warm, informal tone. Mention attendance at the wedding and reception only when mentioned in the prompt. We will include the name of the giver and the gift. Include any information I provide about how we’ll use the gift. If I include a memory or anecdote, use it in the thank you message. Do you have any questions, or is there some other information I can include to help you write the thank you?
AI Tool’s Response:
I don’t have any other questions at this point. I’m ready to start drafting brief, warm thank you notes mentioning the gift giver’s name, the gift itself, any details you provide about how you’ll use the gift, and any specific memories or anecdotes you want to include. For notes where you indicate the giver attended the wedding or reception, I’ll make sure to reference their presence as well. Please go ahead and provide the details for the first note you need written.
My Prompt:
Aunt Martha, blender, smoothies and cocktails, it was good to see her at the wedding, I loved the childhood visits to her garden.
AI’s Thank You Note Wording:
Dear Aunt Martha,
Thank you so much for the lovely blender! We’ve already been putting it to good use making smoothies and cocktails. It was wonderful having you at the wedding – it brought back such fond memories of visiting your beautiful garden when I was a child.
Not bad! By listing the information in the same order in Claude’s response I was able to keep the prompt short. When I entered the same prompt before I settled on my general instructions it gave me this:
Another Prompt:
My college friend James, a set of flannel sheets, he traveled 500 miles to attend the wedding.
AI’s Thank You Note Wording:
Dear James,
Thank you for the cozy flannel sheet set — it will keep us warm on chilly nights. We were so touched that you traveled all the way from 500 miles away to celebrate our wedding with us. Having an old friend like you there made the day even more special.
Some messages will be good enough to use as is, some will need a little tweaking. You can also keep track of the responses you like and reuse them. I recommend copying the responses to a document and referencing that document as you run through your guest list.
After all that, it’s fair to wonder whether it would be easier for you to come up with the wording yourself. If you’re confident with your writing, that might be true. However, if words don’t come naturally to you, using an AI assistant to write your wedding thank you notes could be invaluable.
