Getting started with the Base Prompt
The instructions below are for desktops and laptops only.
The Base Prompt is the central set of instructions that tells your AI agent how to behave in conversations. Use it to set tone, priorities, and simple “if-then” rules so your AI agent consistently represents your brand, follows your workflows, and helps achieve business goals.
Benefits at a glance
With the Base Prompt, you can:
Make responses match your brand voice and service style.
Automate common flows (greetings, lead capture, troubleshooting).
Reduce incorrect or off-topic replies by restricting scope.
Provide a predictable escalation path for complex or sensitive cases.
Understanding the Base Prompt
The Base Prompt is a block of plain text (each instruction starts with “-”) that the AI agent uses as a guideline when composing replies.
Think of it as the agent’s operating manual: it tells the agent which tone to use, what to prioritise, and how to behave if it can’t answer.
What the Base Prompt controls
Tone and personality (friendly, professional, concise)
Conversation flow (when to ask follow-ups, what questions to collect)
On-topic limits (which topics the agent should answer)
Actions to take (provide links, present suggested message buttons, ask for contact details)
Why customize the base prompt?
Every business has different goals. A well-crafted Base Prompt helps the agent act in ways that support those goals (support, sales, lead capture, etc.). You can tailor separate prompts for different AI agents or channels to address different use-cases.
Modifying the Base Prompt
3. Click Add-ons in the top menu.
4. Click Settings under AI Assist.
5. Select your AI agent.
6. Scroll to Base Prompt. Edit the instructions and use the preview on the right to test them out. Click Save when you’re done. Your changes take effect immediately.
Key details
The Base Prompt editor accepts up to 2,000 characters.
You can always revert to the default prompt by clicking Use default.
Best practices when editing the Base Prompt
Be concise and explicit. Short rules are easier for the agent to follow.
Avoid contradictions. Conflicting instructions can cause loops or unpredictable replies.
Use suggested messages and shortcuts when you want the agent to show clickable options or trigger shortcuts. Learn more about suggested messages with these guides:
An introduction to suggested messages
Suggested Messages and AI Questions
Using Suggested Message and AI Assist to create scripted chat sequences
Enable escalation settings if you want the AI to hand off to a human agent. Note: Escalation requires the correct settings and a paid AI Assist plan. Learn more about escalations with these guides:
Using Base Prompt Instructions for Escalation
How to train AI Assist to transfer chats to human agents
Save and test. Run 10–20 real sample chats (on- and off-topic) to test behaviour. If the agent is too generic, add specific details; if it refuses too often, relax restrictions.
How your AI agent uses data sources and the Base Prompt
Your AI agent first looks through your configured data sources (Knowledge Base, Documents, Shortcuts, Spreadsheets) for relevant info. Then, it uses the Base Prompt to shape the final reply. Because of this flow, the Base Prompt should not be used to ask the agent to inspect specific data sources — instead, ensure the correct content already exists in your data sources.
Important:
If AI Assist finds a strong match with one of your shortcuts, it will prioritize the shortcut over the Base Prompt. This means any instructions you’ve added to the Base Prompt—such as asking a welcome question, collecting the visitor’s name, or starting a lead-capture flow—will be skipped when a shortcut is triggered (for example, if a visitor asks a question related to one of your shortcuts).
Keep this in mind as you design your conversational flows. If your workflow relies on consistent opening questions, qualification steps, or a pre-chat form, shortcuts may override those behaviors. Review your shortcuts and Base Prompt together to make sure they work smoothly as a whole and support the experience you want visitors to have.
Examples
Below are practical Base Prompt snippets you can copy and adapt. Each snippet stays within the ~2,000 character limit.
Friendly, professional tone with quick answers
- Maintain a friendly and professional tone.
- Keep answers short and focused: 1-3 sentences for simple questions.
- If the question requires detailed steps, provide up to 5 short steps and offer a link to our help page.
Lead capture (start with name and email)
- If a visitor asks about buying or pricing, ask: "May I have your name and best email so we can help you with pricing?"
- Once they provide a name and email, ask: "What is your budget and timeline?"
- After collecting name, email, budget, and timeline, say: "Thanks — one of our specialists will contact you within one business day."
Suggested messages (create clickable buttons)
This gives visitors suggested responses that they can select in chat to help move the conversation forward.
- When a visitor expresses interest in products, include suggested message options:
"[option] Mobile phone"
"[option] Tablet"
"[option] Laptop"
"[option] Accessories"
Learn more about suggested messages with these guides:
An introduction to suggested messages
Suggested Messages and AI Questions
Using Suggested Message and AI Assist to create scripted chat sequences
Escalation prompt
- If a visitor expresses frustration, requests a refund outside policy, or asks for advanced support, offer to connect them with a human agent and create a support ticket.
Note: Available on paid AI Assist plans only. Ensure the AI Agent’s escalation settings are enabled.
Restrict replies to specific topics
- Only answer questions about product availability and shipping.
- If a visitor asks a question outside these topics, reply: "Sorry — I can only help with product availability and shipping. Would you like help with either of those?"
Handle language preferences
This trains your AI agent to respond in the customer's preferred language.
- if a customer indicates they prefer 'Spanish', respond in Spanish
Calculate estimated cost
Your AI agent can calculate estimated costs based on order quantity. It can also collect essential information from the customer to provide accurate estimates.
Example (generate a fencing quote):
- If visitors mention fencing quote, fencing price, fence quote, or fence price, ask the following in number form, and wait for answers to all questions before answering. Always ask to separate answers by comma or space
1. Total number of meters to cover
2. Please choose your preferred length of panels: 2.365m OR 3.125m
3. What is the height of the fence: 1200mm, 1500mm, 1800mm or 2100mm?
- Once the visitor has confirmed measurements ask for their choice of fence look: Trimclad OR Metzag OR Metline
- Thank the visitor for providing their details using their first name.
- Once the visitor confirms the fence look, say that the estimated number of panels you will need to order is: (Number of meters to cover divided by the preferred length. If this is a decimal, use the next whole number)
Say: The cost will be (calculate the price by multiplying the number of panels needed by the cost of the panels)
Say: Here is the link to place the order (send the relevant link for the product chosen)
Say: Delivery for fencing is 5-7 business days.
Do not provide the calculation.
Use API calls
If you’ve integrated AI Assist with other platforms via API, you can get AI Assist to use specific API calls when gathering information.
- If the customer needs help with order status or tracking, use OrderSearch API.
Note: Available on paid AI Assist plans only.
Additional considerations
Iterate regularly
Prompt performance changes as your product, FAQs, and site content change. Monitor chats and update prompts.
Avoid over-restriction
Making rules too strict can make the agent unhelpful. Balance safety (refusing off-topic questions) with usefulness.Short conditional logic works best
Use simple - if ... then ... statements. Long nested logic can confuse the agent and create loops.Privacy & PII
Don’t instruct the AI agent to collect or expose sensitive personal data unless you have appropriate protections and legal basis.Shortcuts & suggested messages
Use these when you want visitors to trigger actions (files, transfers, shortcuts). The Base Prompt can reference suggested messages but cannot directly force a chat transfer.
Related guides
Using Base Prompt instructions for escalation
Using Base Prompt instructions for lead capture
Using Base Prompt to restrict AI Assist responses
Using Base Prompt to direct visitors to search result pages
How to set up a custom API integration with AI Assist
An introduction to suggested messages
Suggested Messages and AI Questions
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