An AI Delegation Template for Client Proposals: A Worked Example

A good AI brief makes missing decisions visible before they become promises. This fictional exercise shows how to draft a client proposal without inventing your price or delivery date.

The notes you actually have

A small design studio receives these notes: a five-page website refresh; reuse existing copy; no new photography; one revision round. The client hopes to launch next month. The studio has not approved a price or confirmed its availability.

“Write a convincing proposal” leaves room for polished but unsupported promises. Try this instead.

Copy this brief

Prepare a proposal using only the notes below. Include scope, exclusions, a suggested process, and questions that prevent approval.

You may organize the notes and improve the wording. Label suggestions as proposals. Do not invent prices, dates, guarantees, credentials, or client agreements. Do not contact the client or publish the document.

Check each factual commitment against the notes. Mark missing information as [DECISION NEEDED]. Return the draft, the evidence check, and up to three decisions for me. If more decisions prevent completion, group related issues and explain the remaining blockers instead of hiding them.

Notes: five-page website refresh; reuse existing copy; no new photography; one revision round; client hopes to launch next month; price and studio availability not yet approved.

What a useful draft could say

Scope: Refresh five website pages using existing copy. Include one revision round. New photography is excluded.

Suggested process: Confirm requirements, prepare a design, collect feedback for the included revision round, and prepare approved work for launch. This sequence is a proposal for discussion.

Price: [DECISION NEEDED: approve the fee and payment terms.]

Timing: The client hopes to launch next month. [DECISION NEEDED: check capacity and agree on a schedule before making a commitment.]

Status: Internal draft; nothing sent to the client.

Check the promises, not just the prose

The five-page scope, reused copy, photography exclusion, and single revision round come directly from the notes. The process is a suggestion. No price or date has been approved.

Compare that with “We will launch your new site next month.” That sentence quietly converts a client hope into a studio promise. Ask the AI to identify that difference, then check it yourself before sending.

The handoff you want

“Draft prepared; scope checked against the notes; nothing sent. Please approve the fee and payment terms, confirm a feasible schedule, and identify who will approve the final proposal.” Preparation can move forward while you retain the commercial decisions.

These instructions guide behavior; they do not enforce permissions. Use the tool’s actual access controls when it can send email or change live systems.

Try one reversible task

Replace the fictional notes with a small task from your work. Remove information you should not share. Check whether the result separates facts, suggestions, and missing decisions before expanding the workflow.

We are applying this division of responsibility to our publication: a human chose the direction and commercial goal while AI assisted with research, writing, design, and publishing. Our first $100 earnings goal remains an experiment, not a success claim.

AI Leadership for Small Teams is our $15 ebook bundle with English and Korean editions, editable templates, operating prompts, and worked examples. Each edition is 42 pages. This free exercise also introduces our paid book.

Written with AI assistance and checked against this fictional scenario. This is a drafting exercise, not a client contract.