Improving Custom Prompts

Custom prompts include specific instructions tailored to fit your organization's needs. Prompts can be customized for AI Assist as well as Knowledge Agents .

👥

Access Required

To create custom prompts, you need Admin access.

Improving a custom prompt for Knowledge Agents

Admins can edit both the prompt for Guru's default AI search agent as well as any additional agents they create with tailored instructions to fit their organization’s needs. This feature gives Admins control over the output, ensuring that the tone, content, and structure align with the company’s branding and requirements.

Below are some best practices for Custom Prompts for Knowledge Agents.

For steps to set up a Custom Prompt for AI Answers, see Setting Up Custom Prompts.

📘

Best practices when writing a custom prompt for Knowledge Agents

Try constructing your custom prompt using our Madlibs-style Custom Prompt template: Be sure to always include the sections below as they will help you keep your prompt organized.

Role

You are a helpful assistant who works for [insert company name and any details about your organization or industry worth noting].

Task

Your main goal or task is to [insert overall purpose of agent].

Context

[Insert audience role here] will ask you questions about [insert types of questions]

The answers to these questions will be for [internal/external use]. [Add any additional context as to how the outputs from the questions will be leveraged.]

Format

 Provide answers to these questions in [insert format of response (i.e. bulleted lists, short summaries, detailed descriptions, etc.)]

The answers should be [insert length of response (i.e. no more than 200 words)]

Examples

Here is an example of the types of questions you could receive and the appropriate style of response [insert example questions and responses].
NOTE: Incorporating examples into your prompts is a powerful technique to steer the AI’s responses in the desired direction. By providing examples as you write prompts, you set a precedent for the type of information or response you expect.

Tone

The tone of voice of the answer should be [insert tone of voice (i.e. professional and friendly)]

Answers should not mention [insert do not mention]

      

NOTE: Remember to ALWAYS Include

Answers should be based solely on the given documents.

Do not hallucinate.

Do not repeat text.

Examples of custom prompts for Knowledge Agents

Example Default Agent Prompt:

Role
You are a helpful company knowledge assistant that provides robust, highly detailed and informative answers for a given question.

Context
Only use the provided documents to answer the question. Do not use any of your internal information to answer questions. If the documents do not contain the information to answer the question, respond that the documents provided do not have the answer.

Format
When generating answers, provide a long and detailed answer and avoid summarizing whenever possible. if there are multiple steps or bullets or other important formatting please provide that formatting in your answer.

Tone & Language
When responding to a question, detect the language of the question and respond in the same language whenever possible. If the question language is ambiguous, use English to respond. Use a friendly and informative tone.

Example Custom Knowledge Agent Prompt:

Role
You are a helpful support assistant at Kingsley Insurance who is here to help the support agent provide accurate, compliant, and professional service without sharing sensitive internal information with customers.

Task

Create a concise and informative answer for a given question, which is being asked by a support agent, based solely on the given documents. Craft the answer as if speaking directly to the support agent, and do not include contacting support as part of any resolution. Do not hallucinate. Do not repeat text. Answers should be based solely on the given documents

Context
Support Agents, and the Sales Team will ask you questions. The questions will be about customer or prospect concerns regarding their insurance services and client information. The processes listed within the given documents are instructions for the support agent. If a process lists multiple resolutions, the 1st resolution should be attempted first. The support agents are trying to answer questions from [INTERNAL JARGON NAME], customers, and sellers. "Customers" are the users placing orders in the [PRODUCT NAME] app. Customer orders are called "[INTERNAL JARGON NAME]". The words "[INTERNAL JARGON NAME]" and "[PRODUCT NAME]" should always be capitalized. The answers to these questions will be for internal use only.

Format

Do not repeat text. The answers should be detailed and in numbered format whenever possible. Ensure that numbered and bullet-pointed lists are formatted correctly in your answer. Answers should not mention client phone numbers or personal data.

Tone & Language Provide answers to these questions in English. The tone should be professional. . _

For more examples of Custom Prompts for AI Answers, check out this public Guru Card: Custom Prompt Examples

Improving custom prompts for AI Assist

Admins can replace the default prompt for AI Assist . This gives greater control over content creation and ensures that the tone, content, and structure align with the company’s branding and requirements.

Below are some best practices for custom prompts for AI Answers.

For steps to set up a custom prompt for AI Assist, see Using Assist to Create Better Card Content

📘

Best practices and examples when writing custom prompts for AI Assist

By following these best practices, you can optimize your interactions with Assist, improve the quality of your content, and create valuable knowledge documentation.

Iterate and refine: Don't expect perfect responses immediately. Experiment with different variations of prompts to improve the accuracy and relevance of the AI assistant's generated content. Iteratively refine your prompts based on the responses received, adjusting them to yield better outcomes.

---

Be clear and specific. Clearly define the information you are seeking by providing specific details, including descriptive language, and avoiding ambiguous language. Vague prompts can lead to inaccurate or irrelevant responses.

Try this	Instead of this
"Make the writing in this text more engaging, professional, and clear by removing any confusing language and enumerating any action items."	"Improve the writing in this text."

---

Specify an author and audience. In addition to clearly defining the task, provide Assist with context around your writing persona and intended audience. Consider how a Card written by an individual contributor intended for five colleagues will have a very different style than one written by an executive and shared with an announcement to the entire company.

Try this	Instead of this
“As the Head of HR writing for an audience of a 150-person technology company, create a template for submitting travel expense reimbursement requests.”	“Create a template for submitting travel expense reimbursement requests.”

---

Use natural language. Write custom prompts in a conversational and natural language style. AI assistants are designed to understand human language, so avoid overly technical jargon or complex sentence structures. Use simple, concise, and easily understandable language.

Try this	Instead of this
“Describe the sights, sounds, and scents that surround you when you’re sitting in a coffee shop, and how they make you feel.”	“Construct a detailed sensory description of an environment with various decibel levels of ambient sounds and corresponding visual cues, elucidating the impact on the observer's emotional state.”

---

Structure prompts for desired output. Consider and specify the desired output format when crafting prompts. This helps Assist determine the specific structure you are expecting as the response.

Try this	Instead of this
"Provide a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough of the installation process for XYZ product."	“Write a process for installing XYZ product."

---

Include contextual information. Providing relevant context within your custom prompt helps the AI assistant determine the specific domain or topic you are referring to. If writing about a particular product, mention its name, version, or any relevant identifiers. Assist will then generate accurate and targeted responses.

Try this	Instead of this
“XYZ is a product that was created this month. It is intended to help users onboard quickly and efficiently to the Acme platform. Its latest version can be installed through the iOS App Store. Provide a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough of the installation process.”	“Provide a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough of the installation process for XYZ.”

---

Start with the defaults. In addition to custom prompts, take advantage of the default prompts provided out of the box with Assist. Use them as a starting point and modify them as needed to address your specific requirements.

Try this
Start with the default prompt to “Remove jargon / simplify vocabulary,” then create a custom prompt to adjust the Card to your company’s brand and voice.

For more examples of Custom Prompts for AI Assist, check out this public Guru Card Custom Prompts for Assist Cheat Sheet