The single biggest improvement you can make to AI-written content is giving the AI a brand voice brief. Without it, every caption sounds like the same generic internet copy. With it, the AI writes in your tone, uses your words and avoids your pet peeves. Here is a template.
The brand voice brief template
Copy this, fill it in, and paste it at the start of every chat or save it in custom instructions, a Project or a Gem.
Business: [Name] is a [type of business] in [location] that helps [audience] [result].
Audience: [Who they are, what they care about, what frustrates them.]
Offers: [Main products or services and prices if relevant.]
Voice in three words: [e.g. warm, direct, witty.]
We sound like: [e.g. a knowledgeable friend, not a salesperson.]
We never sound like: [e.g. corporate, pushy, overly hyped.]
Words and phrases we use: [list]
Words and phrases we never use: [list, e.g. ‘game-changer’, ‘unlock’, ‘elevate’]
Formatting: [short paragraphs, emoji rules, hashtag rules, sentence case or title case.]
Examples of our best posts: [paste 2 or 3 real captions you love.]
Facts to always get right: [hours, location, pricing, spelling of names.]
Why examples matter most
Describing your voice helps, but showing it helps more. Pasting two or three real captions that you wrote and love gives the AI a concrete pattern to follow.
Generate your brief with AI
Don’t have a defined voice yet? Use this prompt:
“Here are 5 captions I’ve written that I like: [captions]. Here’s who my customers are: [audience]. Analyze my writing style and create a brand voice brief with: voice in three words, we sound like, we never sound like, words we use, words to avoid, and formatting rules.”
Test the brief
Ask the AI to write three captions on a topic you’ve already posted about. Compare them to your original. Adjust the brief where it misses: maybe it is too formal, too emoji-heavy or uses words you dislike.
Prompt systems with brand voice built in
Church Media Prompt Pack
Beauty Editorial Prompts
Ad Creative Concept Prompts
Keep it updated
- Add new banned phrases whenever you catch the AI using one.
- Swap in your newest best captions as examples every few months.
- Update offers, prices and hours.
With your brief ready, try our caption prompts, and polish the output with how to make AI captions sound human. The full workflow is in ChatGPT for social media.