What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a complete, professional incident investigation report — including timeline, root cause analysis, contributing factors, and corrective action recommendations — drafted in under an hour instead of the 3–4 hours it usually takes. You'll also have a reusable prompt template you can use for every future investigation.
What you'll need
- A ChatGPT account (free tier works)
- Your incident notes — witness statements, your own observations, any available data
- Time needed: 30–45 minutes for your first investigation; 15–20 minutes once you're comfortable
- Cost: Free (ChatGPT free tier) or {{tool:ChatGPT.price}} for {{tool:ChatGPT.plan}}
How-To Guide: Incident Investigation Report with AI
Step 1: Gather your incident facts before opening ChatGPT
Before you start typing, organize what you know: who was involved, what time it happened, what they were doing, what happened step-by-step, what injury or near-miss occurred, and what was the first action taken. You don't need to write full sentences — bullet points and fragments are fine.
What you should see: A rough list of facts. Even messy notes work.
Troubleshooting: Missing information is okay — the AI will flag gaps you need to fill in.