How to create quotes and estimates with AI in minutes

Before you open any AI, be clear on the basics. You don’t need anything fancy, a quick note works:

1. Your services or products (e.g. “logo design”, “3 social posts”).
2. The price of each (per hour, per project or per unit).
3. Client details (name and, if applicable, company).
4. Extras: tax (e.g. sales tax/VAT), discount, delivery time and payment method.

Having this ready gets you a near-perfect quote from the AI on the first try.

Any of these works, and all three have a free version:

1. Claude at https://claude.ai
2. ChatGPT at https://chatgpt.com
3. Gemini at https://gemini.google.com

Sign in with your account (or create a free one). For occasional quotes, the free version is more than enough. If you quote daily or want to upload files, a paid plan (from $20/mo) gives you more capacity.

If you’re not sure which to pick, start with the one you already use. For text and tables, all three work great.

Here’s the heart of the trick. Copy this prompt, swap in your data and paste it into the AI:

Act as my administrative assistant. Create a professional quote
in a table with these columns: item, quantity, unit price and
subtotal. At the end, calculate the overall subtotal, an 11.5%
tax and the total.

Client: La Espiga Bakery
My business: Wanda Design

Services:
- Logo design, 1, $250
- Business cards (design), 1, $80
- 5 social media templates, 1, $150

Discount: 10% for advance payment.
Include a note with: valid for 15 days, delivery in 7 days
and payment 50% upfront and 50% on delivery.

The AI returns the full table with the math done and the note written. Adjust anything by asking for changes in plain language (“raise the logo price to $300”, “remove the discount”).

I’ll be very honest: AI sometimes gets the arithmetic wrong. Before you send anything, calmly verify:

1. That each subtotal = quantity x unit price.
2. That the tax is calculated on the correct base.
3. That the discount was applied where it should be.
4. That the total adds up.

If something looks off, tell it: “double-check the math, the total doesn’t add up”. You provide the human eye; the AI does the tedious part. That control is what makes your quote look serious.

Now turn it into a real document. The easiest and free way is Google Sheets:

1. Ask the AI: “give me this quote as a table ready to paste into Google Sheets, with the formulas for subtotal, tax and total”.
2. Open https://sheets.google.com and create a new sheet.
3. Paste the table (use Paste special → Values only if something looks off).
4. Add your logo, colors and contact details at the top.
5. Export to PDF with File → Download → PDF and send it.

Prefer a letter-style document? Ask the AI for the text version with a header, table and note, and paste it into Google Docs or Word.

If you want, check out our tutorial on how to use AI in Google Sheets to automate even more.

The first quote takes a few minutes; the next ones, seconds. The secret is saving a template:

1. Ask the AI: “leave this quote as a blank template, with slots to fill in the client, the services and the amounts”.
2. Save it in a document or a fixed Google Sheets tab.
3. Next time, you just change the client and the numbers.

In Claude you can create a Project with your quoting instructions saved; in ChatGPT, a custom GPT. That way the AI already knows your format, your tax and your tone every time.

Problem	Fix
The totals don’t add up	Say “double-check the math, the total doesn’t add up” and verify by hand
The table looks ugly when pasted	Use “Paste special → Values only” in Google Sheets
The quote sounds generic	Give it more context: your business, your tone and who it’s for
A price changed and I have to redo everything	Just ask for the change (“raise the logo to $300”); it recalculates on its own