Writing good instructions

Instructions tell your assistant how to behave: its tone, its rules and what to do in situations that come up on your calls. Facts about your business belong somewhere else, in your company profile and knowledge base. Keeping the two apart makes the assistant faster, more accurate and easier to update.

Where instructions live

Open Assistants, choose an assistant and go to the Behaviour tab. It has three parts that shape how the assistant talks:

The same instructions are used on phone calls, WhatsApp, text messages and the website chat. On calls, replies are spoken aloud. In chats, they are written as normal text.

Tip: The editor says it plainly: "Short prompts respond faster." Every word in your instructions is read before every reply. A focused page of instructions beats a long one.

Getting a first draft

You do not have to start from a blank box.

• Templates. Under the Instructions box, Friendly receptionist, Strict & efficient and Sales qualifier each fill in a short starting point.
• Generate from company profile. Pick a tone (Friendly & professional, Warm & calm, Upbeat & energetic, Formal & concise or Casual & playful), then click Generate from company profile. The draft uses your company details and the abilities you switched on. Read it, change what is wrong, and click Save changes.

A new assistant starts with sensible default instructions: keep replies to one or two sentences, ask one question at a time, offer to take a message when unsure, and repeat names, numbers and dates back.

What to put in your instructions

Good instructions answer four questions.

1. Who is the assistant? The role and the tone. "You answer the phone for a busy family dental practice. Be warm and calm."
2. What should it always do? "Ask whether the caller is a new or existing patient before booking."
3. What must it never do? "Never give medical advice. Never promise a same-day appointment."
4. What should it do when unsure? "If you cannot answer, offer to take a message for the front desk."

Write each rule as one plain sentence. Use the words you would use to brief a new receptionist on their first morning.

Good and bad examples

Too vague

Be helpful and professional and answer questions about our business.

The assistant already does this. It adds nothing.

Better

When a caller asks about a toothache or swelling, treat it as urgent: ask for their name and a short description, and take a message marked urgent.

This is concrete. It names the situation and the exact action.

Facts in the wrong place

Our cleaning costs $95, check-ups are $120, whitening is $350, we are open Monday to Friday 8 to 6 and Saturday 9 to 1, parking is behind the building...

Prices and hours change. When they sit in the instructions, you have to remember to update them there too. Put services and prices under Company → Services, hours under Company → Hours & booking, and longer material in the knowledge base. See Build your assistant's knowledge base.

Better

For prices, only quote what is in the company information. If a treatment is not listed, say the team will confirm the price and offer to take a message.

Contradicting rules

Keep calls short. Always explain all of our services in detail.

When two rules pull in opposite directions, the assistant has to guess. Decide which matters more and write only that.

Formatting for a screen

Use bullet points and bold text for clarity.

Replies on calls are spoken, so formatting cannot be heard. Write instructions about what to say, not how it should look.

What the assistant already does

Some rules are built in, so you do not need to repeat them:

• It only answers from what you gave it: your instructions, company information, knowledge base, menu or rooms, and what its tools return. It does not answer from general knowledge or make up prices, times, names or policies.
• It politely declines questions that are not about your business.
• It never says it has booked, sent or saved something unless that actually happened on the call.
• On calls, it says prices, times and phone numbers the way people say them out loud.
• It tells callers it is an AI assistant if they ask. With Stay in character switched on under Call settings, it speaks as its persona and never brings up being AI, but it still answers truthfully if a caller sincerely asks whether they are talking to a real person.

Test, then refine

1. Click Save changes.
2. Open the Playground tab and type what a real caller would say. Bookings and messages are only simulated there.
3. Use Call in browser or Call me to test to hear the assistant speak. Test calls are limited to 3 minutes and use your plan's minutes like any other call.
4. Read a few real calls under Calls, and change one thing at a time.

Once real calls come in, the assistant's calls are reviewed and suggested changes to its instructions appear on the Behaviour tab. See Call coach and knowledge gaps.

Common questions

My changes do not seem to apply. Click Save changes. Saved instructions apply from the next call. A call already in progress keeps the version it started with.

The Playground says there are no messages left. Playground messages are limited: a set number per billing month on a paid plan, and a few in total without a plan. Use a test call instead, or wait for the next billing month.

"Test calls need a plan or credit" appears instead of the test buttons. Call me to test is available on a paid plan. Call in browser is part of the Team and Scale plans and needs a plan or credit.

Should I list every question callers might ask? No. Put questions and answers under Company → FAQs, or in the knowledge base. Keep instructions for behaviour.