# Draft product or service descriptions for your website

Turn your notes about what you sell into short, accurate descriptions and detail lists, with missing facts and risky claims flagged before anything goes on your site.

- Category: Marketing basics
- Difficulty: Easy
- Setup: about 10 minutes
- Time saved: about 30 minutes a use (our estimate, not a measurement)
- Works with: Any AI chat, Square, Shopify
- Test status: Run once on made-up data on 21 Oct 2026 with Claude. One run, not proof.
- Approval: Draft, not yet approved by the owner
- Version: 1
- Last checked: 2026-10-21
- Canonical URL: https://hoursaved.com/guides/product-service-descriptions/

## What this does

You list each item's real facts. The AI writes a summary, description and details list, marks missing facts UNCLEAR, and flags health, safety, green or "best" claims. You review it before it goes on your site.

## Before you start

- Any AI chat (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot).
- For each item: name, price, size, materials or what's included, and how it's used.
- Setup: about 10 minutes for a handful of items (our estimate).
- Privacy: product facts only.

## Steps

1. List each item's facts. Shopify suggests specs (size, materials, weight), how it's used and its advantages, backed by proof.
2. Paste the prompt and fill in the brackets. Start with three to five items.
3. Fill every UNCLEAR with a real fact, or delete the line.
4. Read CLAIMS TO CHECK. Keep a claim only if you have proof; the FTC expects evidence first.
5. Check facts and prices against your price list.
6. Paste each description into your store. In Square, go to Items, open the item, use the Description field, and save.

## The prompt

```
Help me write product or service descriptions for my website. Use only what I give you. Don't publish anything.

Business: [name and what you sell]
Who buys from me: [your usual customers]
Items: [for each: name, price, size or length, materials or what's included, how it's used, what makes it different]
My tone: [for example warm and plain]

For each item write:
1. A one-line summary (under 20 words).
2. A description of 50-90 words: what it is, what it's made of or includes, how people use it, and why it's worth it, using only my facts.
3. A short Details list: size, materials, price, care or what's included.

Rules: Don't add features, sizes, prices or results I didn't give. If a detail is missing, write UNCLEAR. Don't make health, safety, environmental or "best" claims. If my notes include one, list it under CLAIMS TO CHECK with a one-line reason.
```

## Try it with made-up data

Business: Tidewater Candle Co., small-batch candles poured in a home studio, sold online and at a weekend market. Buyers: gift shoppers and market regulars. Items: (1) Sea Salt & Cedar, $24, 8 oz soy wax, cotton wick, amber glass jar, about 45 hours burn time in our own tests, scent of sea salt, cedarwood and a little citrus. (2) Lavender Fields, $24, same size and materials, burn time not tested, scent of lavender and vanilla. Notes: "It helps you sleep. All our candles are non-toxic and eco-friendly." Tone: warm and plain.

## What the AI gave us

> **Sea Salt & Cedar.** *Summary:* A soy candle with sea salt, cedarwood and a hint of citrus, poured in small batches.
> Sea Salt & Cedar brings together clean sea salt, warm cedarwood and a touch of citrus. Each candle is hand-poured in small batches with soy wax and a cotton wick, in an amber glass jar. Light it on a quiet evening or wrap it as a gift. In our own tests it burned for about 45 hours.
> *Details:* 8 oz · soy wax · cotton wick · amber glass jar · about 45-hour burn (our tests) · $24 · Care: UNCLEAR
>
> **Lavender Fields.** *Summary:* A soy candle with lavender and vanilla, poured in small batches.
> Lavender Fields pairs soft lavender with a warm note of vanilla. Like all our candles, it's hand-poured in small batches with soy wax and a cotton wick, in an amber glass jar. It's a calm choice for the end of the day, or a simple gift.
> *Details:* 8 oz · soy wax · cotton wick · amber glass jar · burn time UNCLEAR (not tested yet) · $24 · Care: UNCLEAR
>
> CLAIMS TO CHECK: "Helps you sleep" is a health claim and needs proof. "Non-toxic" is a safety claim and needs proof. "Eco-friendly" is a broad environmental claim; it needs proof and specifics.

All three risky claims were kept out. A person still had to add care instructions and catch two slips: "hand-poured" wasn't in the notes (true here, but unchecked), and "a calm choice for the end of the day" leaned toward the sleep claim, so it was cut.

## Check before you send

- [ ] Every price, size and material matches your real product.
- [ ] No health, safety, green or "best" claims, even hinted ones, unless you can prove them.
- [ ] Words the AI added that weren't in your notes are true.
- [ ] Every UNCLEAR is filled or removed.
- [ ] If you reuse these in email, send only to people who signed up, with your postal address and an unsubscribe link (CAN-SPAM).

## Don't paste

- Supplier contracts, wholesale costs or margins.
- Customer names, orders or reviews you don't have permission to use.
- Store logins.

## When not to use this

- For food, cosmetics, supplements, children's products or anything with labeling rules. Those need expert review.
- When you don't know the facts yourself.

## Questions owners ask

**Can AI write product descriptions for my online store?**
Yes, from your facts. It can add small details you never gave, so check every line.

**Can I call my product "non-toxic" or "eco-friendly"?**
Only with solid proof. The FTC says ad claims must be truthful and backed by evidence. Otherwise, state plain facts like "soy wax and a cotton wick."

## Sources

- [Square Support - Create and edit items](https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5115-create-and-manage-items-online)
- [Shopify Help Center - Product descriptions](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/details/product-descriptions)
- [FTC - Advertising FAQ's - A Guide for Small Business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/advertising-faqs-guide-small-business)
- [FTC - Advertising and Marketing](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/advertising-marketing)

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From HourSaved (https://hoursaved.com/), a brand of Momentum Elevation LLC. Web page: https://hoursaved.com/guides/product-service-descriptions/