Using AI to draft replies to moving enquiries

Most first replies to a quote request say the same few things. Thank the person, ask what's missing, explain the next step. That's where a writing tool can save you typing. It can't do the thinking about whether you can actually do the job.

What to put in, what to leave out

Give the tool the facts you've already decided. A short list works well:

• The areas you cover and the days you work.
• The details you always need: addresses, access, stairs or lifts, large items, preferred date.
• What your quote process is, in plain steps.
• Anything you never do, such as moving pianos or storing goods.

Leave out the customer's full name, street address and phone number. Australia's privacy regulator advises against typing personal details into public generative AI tools.¹ Write "the customer" in the draft and type their details in yourself afterwards. The advice is Australian. Check your own country's regulator if you're elsewhere.

Questions a good reply asks

A reply that only says "thanks, we'll be in touch" wastes a day. Ask for what you need to price the job.

Pricing depends on how you charge. In the United Kingdom and Australia, volume, not weight, drives the price. Some movers may offer flat rates based on the number of rooms or bedrooms.² For long-distance moves in the U.S. and Canada, timing of the move, including the specific time of year or month, is generally one of several factors in cost.² So your reply might ask how many bedrooms, what the dates are and how flexible they are.

Ask the tool to turn your list into a short, friendly set of questions. Then cut anything you wouldn't say out loud.

Keeping it from sounding like a robot

Drafts from writing tools tend to be stiff and too long. Fixes that work:

• Tell the tool who is writing: a small local firm, plain words, short sentences.
• Paste one or two of your own old replies as an example of your tone. Remove the customers' details first.
• Cut the opening line that praises the enquiry.
• Read it aloud. If you wouldn't say it on the phone, change it.

Where drafts go wrong

Wikipedia notes that language models can produce text that seems "syntactically sound, fluent, and natural but are factually incorrect".³ In a reply, watch for these.

• A price or range you never gave.
• A promise to pack, store or move something you don't handle.
• A date offered as free when it isn't.
• Insurance cover described in words you haven't checked.

For customer-facing products such as chatbots, the regulator says you should carefully test them first.¹ The same goes for a draft tool you use behind the scenes. Try it on past enquiries first, including awkward ones, and see what it invents.

Rules worth writing down

Keep a short sheet beside the tool:

• Prices and availability are typed by a person, never left to the draft.
• Every reply is read in full before sending.
• Anything about damage, insurance or legal rights goes to a person and, where needed, to the official source.
• If the draft says something you don't recognise, delete the sentence.

Auto-send is a different decision

Some tools can send replies by themselves. That moves the checking step from before sending to after, when the customer has already read it. For a small firm, drafts that wait for a human are the easier place to begin. See where AI fits in the office for the wider picture, and preparing a quote for the step after the first reply.