Using AI to word quotes and estimates clearly

The tool should never decide what a job costs. It should only help explain a price you've already worked out. That one rule prevents most of the trouble.

Quote or estimate?

People use the two words loosely, and the difference matters. In general terms, an estimate is a best guess. Wikipedia describes a cost estimate as an approximation of the cost, and quotes a US government definition that bases it on what is known today.¹ Neither says a final bill will match.

A quote is usually understood as a firmer price. But what each word means legally depends on where you are. Check your state, territory or national consumer agency for yours. This site can't tell you what applies to you.

Whatever you call it, say which it is, in plain words, at the top of the message.

What AI is good for here

Your estimate software or paper form already holds the numbers. The customer still has to understand them. That's where the tool earns its place.

It can:

• Turn a list of line items into a short paragraph a non-mechanic can follow.
• Explain what a part or service is in everyday words, once you've told it what the item is.
• Suggest a polite way to say "the final cost may change if we find more work needed".
• Reorder a long message so the total and the next step come first.

Digital.gov's plain language guides push for content that is clear and easy to understand.²

What it must not do

Invent a price. If you ask "how much for a brake pad change?", the tool will answer with something. It sounds confident. A made-up figure is what Wikipedia means by an AI hallucination: false or misleading information presented as fact.³ Do the sums. Don't trust the tool's arithmetic. Add up the total in your own system and paste it in as a fixed figure.

Decide what work is needed. The tool can't see the car. Whether a part needs replacing is the technician's call. Your prompt should supply the work list, and the tool should only reword it.

Change a number while rewording. This is the quiet one. A tool may round a figure, drop a line or merge two items to make the text flow.

A prompt that keeps prices fixed

Rewrite the estimate below as a short, clear message to a customer. Do not change, round or add any figures. Do not add any work that isn't listed. Do not mention any cause of the problem. Say the figures are an estimate and may change if more work is needed. Estimate: [paste line items and total]

Then compare every figure in the reply with your estimate, one by one. Don't skim. Tick them off.

Wording that tends to work

• Put the total near the top, and say what it covers.
• Keep each line item to one plain sentence.
• Say plainly what isn't included, such as extra parts if something else turns up.
• Say what you need from the customer, and by when, to go ahead.
• Say how you'll contact them if the price needs to change, and that you'll wait for their yes first.

Currency and tax matter too. Say whether a dollar figure includes tax. Which tax applies, and how it's shown, depends on your country, so ask your own tax authority and don't let the tool decide.

Keep the personal details out

Paste line items, not customers. Leave the name, phone number and registration plate out of the prompt, and add them back in your own system. The checking page has a fuller list to confirm before sending.

For extra work found partway through a job, the same method applies. Ask the customer first, in writing, with the new figure supplied by you.