7 AI Email Power-Ups Every MSL Should Use

Most MSL emails sound the same. Formal. Stiff. Overpolished. Like they were written for a corporate compliance manual instead of a real human.

As part of my Email Lab workshop, MSLs submit emails they send to KOLs or HCPs, and then we improve them during the live workshop (you should seriously consider contacting me to bring this to your team. In some cases, we have doubled email open rates in a single session).

They all kind of sound the same and have the same issues. No wonder email open rates are abysmal. Look at the results from a LinkedIn poll recently that Sarah ran. The results are brutal:

Medical Affairs people overwhelmingly said their emails get ignored more often than they get answered.

It makes sense. The inbox is the new battleground in Medical Affairs. KOL lists are long. Calendars are packed. Engagement metrics are intense. Everyone is competing for the same 3 seconds of attention.

If your email feels generic, robotic, or like one of those “I am Nigerian Prince and want to wire you lots of money” emails, it doesn’t stand a chance.

→ This isn’t a “you” problem.
→ It’s a cognitive problem.

Humans are simply bad at shifting perspectives. Especially when you combine a huge KOL list with pressure from engagement metrics and inbox chaos. And that’s exactly where AI becomes your secret advantage.

Most Medical Affairs professionals already use AI for email drafting. But they’re only using it at the surface level: fixing grammar, doing small tweaks, tightening sentences.

The real power comes when you use AI to think better, to shift perspective, personalize smarter, and remove friction from your message. So for this month’s 5-Min AI for Medical Affairs, we’re giving you something simple, quick, and wildly effective:

7 AI email power-ups every MSL should use.

These are tiny add-on prompts that do not require rewriting or heavy prompt engineering. Just drop them into the chat with the email draft you already have to make your emails warmer, shorter, clearer, and more likely to get read, in under 5 minutes.

Let’s get into it.

7 AI Email Power-Ups Every MSL Should Use

Next time you’re drafting an email in your AI tool, try adding one or two of these power-ups. Just copy and paste them in alongside your draft. It’s that simple. But there’s one other rule when you use: you have to tell me how they work for you!

1️⃣ Tone Power-Up: Sound Like a Human

Prompt Power-Up: “Make this sound like I’m talking to a smart friend, warm, simple, still professional.”

Why this works: Warm doesn’t mean unprofessional. Warm means readable. Warm means replies.

2️⃣ HCP Type Power-Up: Match Their World

Prompt Power-Up: “Email for: [academic KOL / community HCP / emerging thought leader]. Focus on what they care about.”

Why this works: Different HCP types care about different things. This keeps your email relevant, not generic.

3️⃣ The Short Email Power-Up: Cut the Noise

Prompt Power-Up: “Trim this down to the essentials. No filler.”

Why this works: Short emails get answered. Long emails get saved for “later.”

4️⃣ Subject Line Power-Up: Make It Open-Worthy

Prompt Power-Up: “Give me 3 short, specific subject lines this person would actually open.”

Why this works: If the subject line doesn’t work, the email doesn’t get read.

5️⃣Actionable Subject Line Power-Up

Prompt Power-Up: “Make the subject line more actionable so the recipient knows exactly what’s needed.”

Why this works: Emails get lost in the noise. Actionable = faster responses.

6️⃣Avoid Misunderstandings Power-Up

Prompt Power-Up: “How could this email be misunderstood by a [HCP type / internal stakeholder]? Flag the risks.”

Why this works: Medical Affairs communication can get nuanced fast. This catches confusion before it happens.

7️⃣Skimmable Power-Up: Respect Their Cognitive Load

Prompt Power-Up: “Format this for a skimmer: 3 bullets + one-line ask.”

Why this works: Everyone skims. Bullets + a clear ask = higher reply rates.

Why These Email Prompt Power-Ups for MSLs Work

These power-ups tap into the fundamentals of strong Medical Affairs communication: clarity, perspective-taking, simplicity, reduced cognitive load, warm tone, focused asks, and ease of decision-making. When you combine these with AI, you remove the friction that keeps your emails from being opened, read, and answered.

Small tweaks create meaningful impact.

Final Thoughts: Email Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard

If your emails are getting ignored, you’re not alone.

These 7 power-ups give you a fast, practical way to stand out, without overthinking, without learning prompt engineering, and without spending 20 minutes perfecting a message.

This is exactly what the 5-Min AI for Medical Affairs series is about: small experiments, big wins, zero overwhelm.

If your team wants to level up communication even further, bring Email Lab to your organization. Contact me here. We’ll show your Medical Affairs team how to write emails that get opened, get answered, and build trust fast.

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