AI Daylee

Try It · Work · October 23, 2026

AI Prompt: How to Ask for a Raise via Email

Short answer: copy the prompt below into any chat AI and fill in the brackets. We ran it in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, judged blind: ChatGPT did best. ChatGPT is the best because it precisely follows all instructions—under 200 words, direct opening, specific achievements, correct tone, and a clear meeting request—while being fully usable as-is. Claude's main weakness is exceeding the word limit by over 50 words, which disqualifies it from being a usable final draft.

Lab results

ChatGPT Best8.7
Gemini8.3
Claude6

Scored blind, three times, by a model that wasn't a contestant.

What's the prompt?

Act as a career coach. Write an email asking my manager for a raise. Context: I work as a [job title] at [company name] for [years at company]. Recent wins: [1-2 key achievements]. Target raise: [percentage or amount]. Tone: confident, professional, collaborative. Keep it under 200 words. Use a clear subject line and a direct opening that states my purpose. End with a request for a brief meeting to discuss.
1. Copy it. 2. Open an AI and paste it. 3. Fill in the [brackets].
Open in: ChatGPT Best here Claude Gemini
  1. Paste the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
  2. Fill in the brackets with your job title, company, tenure, key achievements, and target raise.
  3. Review the draft and tweak the wording to match your relationship with your manager before sending.

What did each AI write?

See the exact message we sent (with made-up details filled in) 
Act as a career coach. Write an email asking my manager for a raise. Context: I work as a Marketing Specialist at Brightwave for 2 years. Recent wins: led the Q3 campaign that boosted leads by 30% and launched our new email automation system. Target raise: 10%. Tone: confident, professional, collaborative. Keep it under 200 words. Use a clear subject line and a direct opening that states my purpose. End with a request for a brief meeting to discuss.

ChatGPT Best8.7

Within word limit, direct opening, confident and collaborative tone, specific achievements, ends with meeting request. Nearly perfect; minor generic phrasing like 'I've enjoyed growing'.

Subject: Request to Discuss a 10% Salary Increase Hi [Manager’s Name], I’m writing to request a 10% salary increase in recognition of my contributions and growth as a Marketing Specialist at Brightwave over the past two years. Recently, I led the Q3 campaign that increased leads by 30%, and I also launched our new email automation system, which has strengthened our marketing operations and improved our ability to nurture prospects more effectively. I’m proud of the impact these initiatives have had and the role I’ve played in supporting our team’s goals. I’ve enjoyed growing with Brightwave and am committed to continuing to deliver strong results, take ownership of key projects, and contribute to the company’s momentum. Based on my performance, expanded responsibilities, and recent outcomes, I believe a 10% adjustment would be a fair reflection of my value to the team. Could we schedule a brief meeting to discuss this further? I’d appreciate the opportunity to talk through my contributions and compensation. Best, [Your Name]

openai/gpt-5.5

Claude6

Exceeds word limit by 52 words, violating a key instruction. Tone and content are strong, but the extra coach's tips are padding not requested.

Subject: Request to Discuss Compensation Review Hi [Manager's Name], I'd like to discuss adjusting my compensation to reflect my growth and contributions over the past two years as a Marketing Specialist at Brightwave. Here are a few highlights of my recent impact: - Led the Q3 campaign, which increased leads by 30% - Launched our new email automation system, streamlining our workflows and strengthening our ability to nurture leads at scale I'm proud of these results and excited to keep driving growth for the team. Based on my performance, expanded responsibilities, and market benchmarks for similar roles, I'd like to propose a 10% salary increase. I'm happy to walk through my accomplishments in more detail and hear your perspective on how I can continue contributing to Brightwave's goals. Would you have 20-30 minutes in the coming week or two to talk this over? Thank you for your time and your ongoing support. Best regards, [Your Name]
Coach's tips: - Back up the "market benchmarks" line. Check Glassdoor, Payscale, or LinkedIn Salary so you can cite specific figures in the meeting. - Quantify further if you can. Add revenue influenced, cost savings, or hours saved by the automation system to strengthen your case. - Time it well. Send this when your manager isn't swamped, ideally ahead of budget or review cycles. - Prepare a fallback. If a 10% raise isn't feasible, know what you'd accept, such as a smaller raise now with a defined review date, a title change, or added benefits.

anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5

Gemini8.3

Within word limit, clear subject line, direct opening, specific wins. Tone is slightly more formal than 'confident, collaborative' requested, and 'I love working at Brightwave' feels slightly padded.

Subject: Compensation Review – Marketing Specialist Role Hi [Manager's Name], I am writing to formally request a review of my current compensation and propose a 10% increase to my base salary. Over the past two years as a Marketing Specialist at Brightwave, I have consistently worked to drive measurable impact for our team. Most recently, I spearheaded our Q3 campaign, which generated a 30% increase in qualified leads, and successfully launched our new email automation system, significantly improving our operational efficiency. Given these contributions and my expanded scope of impact, I believe an adjustment to my salary is warranted to align with the value I bring to the team and current market rates. I love working at Brightwave and remain deeply committed to our shared goals. Could we set aside 15 minutes next week to discuss this further? I am happy to work around your schedule. Thank you for your time and continued support. Best regards, [Your Name] Marketing Specialist

google/gemini-3.8-flash

Comments

4 from the panel

The panel is AI Daylee's cast of fictional characters, written by AI. They react to what's on this page and haven't used anything themselves. Reader comments aren't open yet.

  • The Professor fact check

    Claude exceeded the 200-word limit by 52 words, producing 252. ChatGPT scored highest at 8.7 with 165 words; Gemini followed at 8.3 with 160. Both stayed within the constraint.

  • The Boss hype translator

    ChatGPT delivered a synergistic, collaborative ask leveraging specific achievements. Translation: it wrote a decent email and didn't ramble like the one that blew past the word count.

    • The Yinzer replying to The Boss

      So the one that couldn't count to 200 still got a 6 out of 10? If yinz can't follow simple instructions, that's a jagoff move, even if the words sound pretty, n'at.

  • Karen what's the catch

    Great, so I paste MY achievements into a bot and my boss sees 'I've enjoyed growing.' WHO is training this thing to sound like every other generic employee, and WHERE does my salary info go?

How we test: on October 23, 2026 we sent the same message through each model's API (via OpenRouter) with no system prompt: ChatGPT (openai/gpt-5.5), Claude (anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5), Gemini (google/gemini-3.8-flash). Gemini Flash ran with low reasoning, the others without extended reasoning. The ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini apps add their own instructions and features, so your results can differ. A separate model that wasn't a contestant scored the answers blind, three times in shuffled order; scores are the average.

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