How to write a raise or promotion request email with AI

Quick answer

Open ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini: for a single email the free versions are enough. Paste the prompt you find below and fill the data block with your role, your measurable results from the past year and the figure you're asking for. The AI returns a professional draft in half a minute. You reread it, remove what sounds fake, and send it.

Which tool to choose

To write a single email the task is light: no free version will make you bump into the limits. The choice depends on where you already work.

  • If you live inside Gmail (personal Google account or company Workspace): use Gemini. You give it a subject, a few bullet points or a sketched sentence and it returns a complete email, adjusting the formality to the context. The advantage is that you don't leave the inbox. One caveat: the Gemini integration inside Gmail and Docs is reserved for the higher Workspace plans; with a basic plan or a regular Gmail account you still use the free app on gemini.google.com, which does the same job in a separate tab.

  • If you care about the right tone and consistent writing: use Claude. It keeps a stable register from start to finish and doesn't slip into flatness. For an email the free plan is more than sufficient.

  • If you just want a quick draft and already use ChatGPT: the free version is fine. After many close-together exchanges it quietly scales down to a lighter model, but for an email and a few corrections you won't reach that point.

Choose the one you already have open: none of these tasks requires a subscription.

How to do it

  1. Before touching the AI, retrieve three concrete numbers from your past year: a result you delivered (revenue, clients, hours saved), a new responsibility you took on and the figure or position you're asking for. Without these, the AI writes hot air.
  2. Open the tool you chose and paste the prompt below, replacing the lines in the "data" block with yours.
  3. Read the draft out loud. If there's a sentence you'd never say to your boss, delete it.
  4. Ask for a second version with a single change at a time ("make it more direct", "shorten it by 30%", "remove the conditional from the opening").
  5. Check the figure and the recipient's name by hand: this you never delegate.

The prompt to paste as-is:

You are a career coach. Write me a professional email in Italian to ask my
manager for a salary raise (or a promotion).

Requirements:
- Confident but respectful tone, never pleading, never aggressive.
- Maximum 200 words, subject included.
- Structure: clear subject, brief opening, 2-3 measurable results that justify
  the request, the explicit request, a closing that proposes a meeting.
- No stock phrases like "I hope I'm not bothering you" or "awaiting your reply".
- Use the conditional only in the final request, not in the opening.

My data:
- Role and years at the company: [e.g. account manager, 3 years]
- Past year's results with numbers: [e.g. brought in 4 new clients, +15% renewals]
- New responsibilities taken on: [e.g. I've coordinated 2 junior colleagues since January]
- What I'm asking for: [e.g. 10% raise / move to senior account]
- Recipient's name: [e.g. Marco]

After the draft, also give me a shorter 5-line alternative version.

The data block is short on purpose: five lines to fill in, not half a page of placeholders.

A concrete example

Giulia, a marketing assistant at an SME for two years, wants to ask for a move to marketing specialist. She opens Claude (free version), pastes the prompt and in the data block writes: "managed the socials from scratch, +40% followers in 12 months", "launched the newsletter, now 3,000 subscribers with a 32% open rate", "since March I've run the Google Ads campaigns on my own", request "move to marketing specialist with adjustment", recipient "Elena".

Claude returns a draft with the subject "Request for a meeting about my growth path". Giulia notices that the opening says "I would humbly like to put to you": she finds it mawkish and asks "remove 'humbly' and make the opening leaner". The second version leads with the results. Giulia checks the numbers by hand, adds a line of her own about the ongoing project and sends it. Elena sets up a meeting in the following days. Total time: twelve minutes against the hour she would have spent staring at the blank screen.

When it does NOT work (and how to fix it)

If the AI invents results you don't have

It happens if in the data block you leave lines empty or vague: the model fills the gaps with plausible but false numbers ("I increased revenue by 20%" without you having said it). Fix: reread every number and delete anything you can't prove in an interview. If you don't have measurable data, add to the prompt "do not invent numbers, use only qualitative descriptions of my tasks".

If the draft sounds robotic or all the same

AIs tend toward a flat corporate register. Fix: ask "rewrite it the way a real person would say it, with short sentences". Then insert a sentence of your own by hand, even an imperfect one: it breaks the cookie-cutter effect and makes the email yours.

If it blocks you because you've run out of free messages

On free plans, after many close-together exchanges you drop to a weaker model or stop altogether. Immediate fix: switch to another of the three tools to finish, the email is the same and so is the prompt. Alternatively the limit regenerates after a few hours, so you can also resume later without losing anything.

If you fear the company will "see" that you wrote it with AI

Nobody can know if you personalize it. The real problem isn't the AI, it's sending a generic, un-revised draft. Step 3 (reading out loud and cutting) is what makes it indistinguishable from one written by hand.

A tip from someone who actually uses it

Don't ask the AI to write the email as the first thing. Ask it to be your sparring partner: "I'm about to ask for a 10% raise. Ask me three uncomfortable questions my boss might pose". The answers you prepare are more useful to you than the email itself, because the email opens the conversation but it's in the meeting that it gets decided. The draft is a small part of the work; the bulk is showing up with the numbers ready and a minimum threshold below which you won't go.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a raise request email be?

Short. Under 200 words, because the boss reads it from the phone between one meeting and the next. The goal of the email isn't to convince: it's to obtain a meeting. The details and the negotiation happen in person. The prompt above already imposes this limit.

Should I write the exact figure in the email or wait for the meeting?

Generally it's worth naming the request (a percentage or the new role) right in the email: it gives concreteness and signals that you have clear ideas. The negotiation on the precise number you do in person. In the data block indicate the figure; if you prefer to keep it for the meeting, write "do not specify the figure, just ask for a meeting to discuss it".

Can I also use the AI to prepare for the boss's objections?

Yes, and it's the best use. After the draft, paste: "My boss might tell me the budget is frozen. Give me three ready replies, firm but not argumentative". You turn the tool from secretary into negotiation coach, which is where it gives you the most value.

Isn't it dishonest to have such a personal request written by a machine?

It's the serious doubt, and the answer is no, as long as you remain the author of the choices. The AI lines up the words; the results, the figure and the decision to ask are yours. It's like using a proofreader or having a friend who writes well reread your letter. It only becomes dishonest if you have it invent merits you don't have, and that's exactly what the by-hand verification step prevents you from doing.