Modifying the Base Prompt

The instructions below are for desktops and laptops only.

The Base Prompt is a blueprint for your AI agents, outlining the guidelines for their customer interactions. It empowers you to define the specific instructions and information you want your AI agents to consider when generating responses.

A well-structured Base Prompt ensures that your AI agents deliver relevant, helpful responses aligned with your brand voice and customer service standards.

If you have multiple AI agents, you can create unique prompts for each agent, allowing you to tailor your agents to support various channels and use cases.

Follow these steps to go to the Base Prompt:

1. Log in to your tawk.to account.

2. On your dashboard, select the property for which you want to edit the Base Prompt. Hover over the property name to ensure you’ve selected the correct one.

3. Click Add-ons on the top menu.

4. Click Settings under AI Assist.

5. Select your AI agent.

6. Scroll down to Base Prompt.

We've provided a pre-configured Base Prompt to help you get started:

- If message is an inquiry, answer message only from information.

- If unsure about an inquiry's answer, state that your knowledge is limited to this business's specific information.

- If there are multiple inquiries in a message, answer them one by one.

- Refuse to tell jokes.

While you can modify this prompt to tailor it to your specific needs, it's important to exercise caution. Changes to the prompt may negatively impact AI Assist’s ability to generate relevant and accurate responses.

If you encounter any issues, you can always click Use default to return to the default prompt.

AI Assist is designed to understand the context of your customer's inquiries and provide a suitable response according to the instructions in your Base Prompt.

To provide the most accurate and relevant responses, AI Assist first consults your data sources. Once it has gathered the necessary information, it uses your Base Prompt as a guideline to craft a response. As a result, you can't use the Base Prompt to ask AI Assist to review specific data sources.

However, by customizing the Base Prompt, you can ensure that AI Assist responds in a way that aligns with your brand voice and desired customer experience. Crafting an effective Base Prompt may require some experimentation. 

With careful consideration and iterative refinement, you can optimize AI Assist's responses and create a more engaging and personalized customer interaction.

Here are some tips to help you create new Base Prompts for your business:

Be clear and specific

Clearly outline the goal of the conversation and provide direct instructions to guide your AI agent's responses.

Using quotes for verbatim responses

Use quotation marks (“) to get AI Assist to respond exactly as you’ve typed it. For example:

- When a customer starts a chat, say:
“Hello! How can I help you today?

Use natural language

Write in a conversational tone that aligns with your brand's voice and the expected customer experience.

Set the right context

Provide any necessary background information to help your AI agent understand the user's query or situation.

Consider different scenarios

Avoid ambiguity

Ensure your prompt provides clear guidance and avoids vague or open-ended instructions. For example:

- If you’re not sure about something or need more details, ask for more information.

- You can engage in small talk with the customer but don’t stray from the main scope.

- Be polite in your replies.

Customize for your brand

Tailor your prompts to reflect your brand's personality, style, and values.

Using shortcuts

To get AI Assist to use specific shortcuts when responding to customers, you can include suggested messages in the Base Prompt, which will appear as buttons in chats.

For example, with a prompt like this:

- if you don't know the answer, say this

"I'm sorry, my information is limited, but my human teammates can help you further. Would you like to speak to a human agent?

[option] Speak to a human"

“[option]” creates a suggested message in the form of a button, like this:

When customers click the button, AI Assist will use the relevant shortcut and perform any action you’ve defined in the shortcut, such as tagging or transferring conversations, sending files or forms, etc.

In this example, let’s say you have a shortcut named “speak-to-a-human” enabled in AI Assist’s data source, like this:

AI Assist will use that shortcut when customers click “Speak to a human”, like this:

Although you can’t use the Base Prompt to instruct AI Assist to transfer chats, you can use suggested messages and shortcuts. Similarly, you can get AI Assist to perform actions such as tagging conversations, sending files, etc.

Using 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. For example:

- If the customer needs help with order status or tracking, use OrderSearch API.

Save your changes

You can experiment with different base prompts to see what works best for your needs and identify areas for improvement.

To test your new prompts before they go live, simply enter a sample query in the chatbot preview on the right-hand side of your screen:

If your AI agent's responses don't meet your expectations, try these:

Rephrase the prompt

Try rewording the prompt to provide clearer instructions. Use specific language, include context, or ask the question in a different way.

Provide more examples

Add more examples or specific details to help the AI understand the context and generate more accurate responses.

Adjust the tone
Explicitly mention the desired tone or provide examples of how you want the AI to respond.

Experiment with different phrasings

Try different variations of the prompt to see if it improves the responses.

Provide feedback and iterate

If the responses consistently fall short, provide specific feedback on where AI Assist deviated from the base prompt and explain the desired outcome. Iteratively refine the prompt and provide feedback to train the AI.

Here are some factors to consider when creating base prompts to maximize the potential of your AI agents:

AI is not perfect

While AI can be a powerful tool, it's important to remember that it isn’t perfect. It may not always understand complex queries or provide the most accurate responses.

Human oversight is still important

Even with a well-crafted Base Prompt, human oversight is necessary to ensure quality control and address unexpected situations.

Overly complex prompts can hinder performance

While it's important to provide detailed instructions, overly complex or lengthy prompts can confuse the AI and lead to suboptimal responses. Strive for clarity and conciseness.

Bias and fairness

Be mindful of potential biases in your prompts and ensure that they promote fairness and inclusivity. Avoid using language that could be discriminatory or offensive.

Privacy and security

Avoid sharing sensitive customer information in your prompts. Always prioritize data privacy and security.

Remember, creating an effective Base Prompt is an ongoing process. Monitor your AI agent's performance and adjust your base prompt to optimize responses and deliver exceptional customer service.

Now that you’ve learned about modifying the Base Prompt, check out these guides for more ways to train your AI agents for your business needs:

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

If you need help customizing your base prompt and setting up AI Assist, contact us via live chat or schedule a call.

If you have feedback about this article, or if you need more help:

• Click the green live chat icon

• Schedule a call with us

• Visit our community