What's an effective AI prompt for drafting a supplier delay/disruption notification to customers

The Prompt

Draft a customer notification about a supply delay affecting [product/order].

What's happening: [the actual cause — supplier delay, material shortage, logistics issue]
Impact: [specific new timeline or range, which orders are affected]
What we're doing: [mitigation steps, if any]

Be specific about the timeline rather than vague ("delays possible") — customers plan around real dates, and vague language reads as evasive.

Why This Prompt Works

Vague disruption language (“delays possible,” “we’re working on it”) reads as evasive to customers who are trying to plan around a real date, while a specific new timeframe — even if it later shifts — gives them something concrete to act on; specificity, not certainty, is what the notification actually needs to deliver.

How to Customize It

Insert your actual, current best-estimate timeline rather than a placeholder — an inaccurate specific date is worse for trust than an honest range. For a customer with a downstream deadline of their own, offer to flag them if the timeline changes again rather than making them check back manually.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t understate the disruption to avoid an uncomfortable message — customers who plan around an overly optimistic date and then get a second delay notice lose more trust than they would have from one accurate message upfront. Also avoid a generic mass notice when the impact varies by order; a customer whose order isn’t actually affected shouldn’t get the same alarming message as one who is.

Bottom Line

A disruption notice earns customer trust by being specific and honest about the real timeline, even when the news isn’t good — vague reassurance reads worse than an accurate delay.