AI for small business

Write Social Media Posts and Captions with AI

Use ChatGPT or Gemini to draft social captions. A prompt you can copy, what to check, and why the tool should not invent reviews or offers.

Last reviewed October 20, 2026 · 2 min read

On this page
  1. 1. Copy this prompt
  2. 2. Edit before you post
  3. 3. What not to ask for
  4. Common mistakes
Illustration of a caption prompt and a sample result for a Sacramento house-cleaning offer. Not a ChatGPT or Gemini screen. Diagram: Sac Business Launch.

Illustration of a caption prompt and a sample result for a Sacramento house-cleaning offer. Not a ChatGPT or Gemini screen. Diagram: Sac Business Launch.

What you'll need

  • The offer or news, with the real price, date, and place

  • One caption you have already posted, so the draft can sound like you

  • Five minutes to edit

1. Copy this prompt

Change the business, the price, and the city. Leave the last two lines as they are.

Write 3 Instagram captions for a Sacramento house-cleaning company.
Offer: first clean this month is $120 for a 2-bed apartment.
Tone: warm, short, no hashtag spam.
Do not invent reviews, awards, or a discount.
End each caption with: Book on our website.

The picture above is an illustration of that prompt and one possible result. It is not a screenshot of ChatGPT or Gemini.

2. Edit before you post

Take out a discount you did not approve, a quote a customer did not say, and a city you do not serve. Keep the price, date, and next step you typed. Diagram: Sac Business Launch.

Take out a discount you did not approve, a quote a customer did not say, and a city you do not serve. Keep the price, date, and next step you typed. Diagram: Sac Business Launch.

  1. Delete any price, date, or neighborhood the tool added.

  2. Cut the caption until it sounds like something you would say out loud.

  3. Add the real link yourself. Do not let the tool guess the URL.

  4. If a sentence praises you with a quote, take it out unless a real customer said it.

Customer emails are a different job. Use write customer emails with AI.

3. What not to ask for

Do not ask the tool to write Google reviews, star ratings, or "customers say" lines. The FTC rule on consumer reviews bars a business from creating reviews that misrepresent that the reviewer exists or used the product or service.

Do not paste a customer's private message into the prompt. The safety rules are in what not to paste into AI.

Common mistakes

  • Posting the first draft because it sounds confident.

  • A caption that promises a discount you never approved.

  • Hashtags that name a city you do not serve.

Questions people ask

Can AI write the caption and I just post it?

Use it for the first draft. You check the price, the date, the place, and the tone, then you post it.

Can I ask AI to write customer reviews?

No. A review has to come from a real customer. The FTC's consumer review rule bars reviews that misrepresent who the reviewer is.

Should I paste a customer's photo into the prompt?

Only if you have their permission to use that photo in a prompt. Leave their name, phone, and address out.

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Words to know

  • Prompt: The instructions you type.

  • Caption: The text that sits with a photo or video.

  • Hashtag: A # topic. A few are enough. A long block of them reads like spam.

Sources

  1. 16 CFR Part 465 - Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (eCFR) · ecfr.gov
  2. Data controls in ChatGPT - OpenAI Help Center · help.openai.com

This is general information for Sacramento and Northern California businesses. We are not attorneys or tax advisors, and this is not legal or tax advice. Check the official sources, and a local pro, before you act.

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