More efficiency in your inbox?

Save 5 hours per week with ChatGPT Voice Prompts

How much time and energy do you spend answering emails? In this column for Dutch career platform Intermediair.nl, AI expert Esther Jacobs shares how email can be done faster, easier, and even more enjoyably. She personally saves 5 hours per week with this simple adjustment.

As soon as I read an email, I immediately know how I want to respond. But typing it out and making the reply presentable often feels time-consuming. Not only because typing is slower than thinking, but also because I sometimes want to take a step back to maintain professionalism. However, this means I have to read the same email again later, rephrase my response, and then type it out. Fortunately, there’s now a better way!

Work more efficiently by emailing smarter

Many people know that you can use ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI assistant to edit an email you’ve written. But did you know that ChatGPT can write the entire email for you?

AI – and especially ChatGPT – has completely changed my life. I now work almost exclusively with this assistant, which is much more efficient, feels more intuitive, and: I no longer have to type! This not only saves time but also a lot of energy. Per week, this saves me about 5 hours of work.

Here is my solution: use voice prompts (the microphone icon) in the ChatGPT app on your phone.

Imagine this: you have your computer in front of you with the email open, your phone in your hand, and you simply speak out what you want to reply. For example: “I have an email from John who is asking for the third time if the deadline can be moved. His guinea pig must be sick again… I’m so tired of this. How many times do I have to say that the deadline is not going to change? We have made clear agreements about this. That’s it. He just has to make it work. Turn this into a friendly but firm email.”

And then the magic happens.

ChatGPT takes your raw thoughts and turns them into a professional, polished email. You copy and paste the result into your email program, and you’re done. You only have to read each email in your inbox once and handle it immediately, without typing or stressing over the right wording. You get an immediate response that sounds exactly like you would say it—but better.

What if the email isn’t quite what you want?

Don’t make changes yourself, but tell ChatGPT (again via a voice prompt) what you want to adjust. ChatGPT learns from your preferences:

• Do you want to move or remove something?
• Should it sound less annoyed?
• Or just a bit less formal?
• Would you like an example included, a reason given, or maybe even a joke?

By providing feedback, the results keep improving.

Teach ChatGPT your style

Many people let ChatGPT create a first draft and then tweak it themselves, but that way, you miss out on the most important function: the learning ability. ChatGPT truly becomes your assistant when you keep guiding it, explaining what you need, and helping it better understand your style and preferences.

ChatGPT with voice prompts isn’t just useful for emails. You can use the same technique to:

• Write social media posts while you’re on the go.
• Turn vague ideas into clear words.
• Convert complex thoughts into clear plans.

It feels like having a personal assistant: always available, eager to learn, always ready to help. Give it a try—you’ll be amazed at how much time you save and how fun it can be to work this efficiently.

Disclaimer: ChatGPT voice prompts were used in writing this column. No guinea pigs were harmed in the process.

This column was originally published in Dutch in February 2025 on Intermediair.nl. Check out all of Esther’s monthly columns with AI tips.