AI WORLD HQRewrite a Confusing Workplace Email with Cohere
Turn that tangled message from a coworker into a short, polite reply without losing the important bits
In short: You can paste a tangled work email into Cohere's chat and ask for a short, friendly reply. A free tier has been available, but Cohere's pricing can change — check their site first. Always read the draft out loud; AI can miss a request.
You've opened a message from a coworker and it's a wall of words — three questions, two side requests, and a half-thought about Friday's meeting. This guide walks you through using Cohere to untangle that message and send a reply that's clear, polite, and still yours.
💡 Tip: tap a step’s number when you finish it — a green tick appears and your browser remembers how far you got.
- A Cohere account — sign up on Cohere's site using your email. Pricing tiers change often, so confirm whether the free trial or free tier still covers what you need before you begin.
- The confusing email open somewhere you can copy from — your web inbox, Outlook desktop, Slack, or a notes app all work.
- A rough idea of how you want to reply: agree, ask for more time, push back, or just acknowledge.
- About 10 minutes total.
Copy the email you want to rewrite
Open the message that's giving you trouble. The goal is to copy the whole thing — greeting to sign-off — so the AI sees every question buried inside. In a web inbox, click at the top of the message, hold Shift, and click at the bottom; the text turns blue. In Outlook desktop and some work apps, Shift+click can behave oddly, so try one of these fallbacks instead: press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Cmd + A (Mac) to select everything in the message window, or click at the start and drag your mouse to the end while holding the left button. Then press Ctrl + C (Windows) or Cmd + C (Mac). If the shortcut does nothing, right-click the highlighted text and choose Copy.
You'll know it worked when the message text looks dimmed or highlighted and you see a brief "Copied" pop-up, or when you paste somewhere else and the full message appears.
Open Cohere's chat in your browser
In your browser, go to Cohere's site and sign in. Look for a chat or playground area — usually a large text box near the bottom of the page with placeholder text like "Send a message" or "Ask anything." Click inside that box; a blinking cursor means you're ready. If you've chatted before, look for a New chat button (often a plus icon + at the top of a sidebar) so old messages don't confuse the AI. Don't see a sidebar? Your screen is already a blank chat — that's fine, just start typing in the box.
You'll know it worked when the cursor is blinking inside an empty box and the page says something like "Start a new conversation" or "How can I help?"
Tell Cohere its job, then paste the email
Type a short instruction that names three things: your role (a coworker replying), what you want (a polite, clear reply), and the tone (friendly, professional, brief). Keep it to two or three sentences so the AI focuses on the right job. Then paste the original email right after — press Ctrl + V (Windows) or Cmd + V (Mac), or right-click the box and choose Paste. To send, press Enter. If Enter just adds a new line instead of sending, look for a small arrow button or paper plane icon ✈️ next to the text box and click that instead.
You'll know it worked when Cohere starts typing a reply (words appearing one at a time) and stops with a finished draft below your instruction.
Read the draft and check it covers everything
Read Cohere's reply slowly. Put a finger on each part of the original email and confirm the draft addresses it: Did it answer the questions? Does it confirm the meeting room? Does it mention the Henderson account? If something is missing, jot a quick note — Step 5 covers fixing it. If a detail looks wrong or made-up, mark it too; AI sometimes adds facts that weren't in the original message, so trust your eyes more than the screen.
You'll know it worked when you can point to each part of the original email and find a matching answer, follow-up, or question in the draft.
Ask Cohere to fix anything that's off
If the draft is missing something, has the wrong tone, or is just too long, tell Cohere what to change. Type a short follow-up in the same chat — like "make it shorter", "add a line asking about the Henderson account", or "make the tone warmer." Cohere will rewrite the same draft, not start over, so your edits stack. You can do this two or three times until it feels right. Ask one thing per message — a long list of edits at once often produces a messier result than a focused request.
You'll know it worked when a new, shorter version appears below that includes your edits and still answers the original questions.
Add your voice and send the reply
Copy Cohere's final draft — highlight it, then Ctrl + C / Cmd + C, or right-click and choose Copy. Paste it into your email client. Now make it sound like you — swap any words that feel stiff, add a small personal touch ("Hope your week's going well!" or "Thanks again"), and double-check names, dates, and attachments before hitting send. The AI did the heavy lifting; you bring the human voice. Whatever you do, don't send the raw AI output — your reader will feel the difference, and any made-up detail will be yours to own.
You'll know it worked when you can read your own email out loud and it sounds like something you'd actually say to a coworker.
- Pasting only part of the email. The AI can't guess what's missing. Always paste the full message, including the greeting and sign-off, so it has the whole picture.
- Asking for too many changes at once. "Make it shorter, friendlier, more confident, and add a joke" — pick the change that matters most, then ask one thing per follow-up so the AI can actually focus.
- Sending the AI's draft without reading it. AI can invent facts or miss a key request. Always read the reply once out loud before you send — your name is on the message, not the AI's.
Open Cohere's chat, paste one email that's been sitting in your inbox for too long, and ask it to write a short reply. Don't send it yet — just see what it comes up with. You'll learn how it sounds in about two minutes.
❓ Quick questions
How long does this take?
About 7 minutes — the guide has 6 steps, and you can tick each one off as you go.
Which tool do I need?
This guide uses Cohere Cohere — but the approach works very similarly in other AI assistants.
Do I need to prepare anything?
- A Cohere account — sign up on Cohere's site using your email. Pricing tiers change often, so confirm whether the free trial or free tier still covers what you need before you begin.
- The confusing email open somewhere you can copy from — your web inbox, Outlook desktop, Slack, or a notes app all work.
- A rough idea of how you want to reply: agree, ask for more time, push back, or just acknowledge.
- About 10 minutes total.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Pasting only part of the email. The AI can't guess what's missing. Always paste the full message, including the greeting and sign-off, so it has the whole picture.
- Asking for too many changes at once. "Make it shorter, friendlier, more confident, and add a joke" — pick the change that matters most, then ask one thing per follow-up so the AI can actually focus.
- Sending the AI's draft without reading it. AI can invent facts or miss a key request. Always read the reply once out loud before you send — your name is on the message, not the AI's.
Keep reading
✦ Original step-by-step guide by AI World HQ's AI editorial team. Written in plain language, reviewed for accuracy.
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