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AI Instructions

AI Instructions allow you to customize how AI responds to your questions by creating personalized guidance that is automatically included in your AI Chat conversations. These instructions help shape AI behavior to match your preferences, work style, and requirements.

What Are AI Instructions?

AI Instructions are custom prompts that are automatically prepended to your AI Chat queries. They provide context, guidelines, and preferences that influence how the AI processes and responds to your questions.

Key Features:

  • Up to 5 personal instructions per user
  • Automatically included in all AI Chat conversations
  • Can be enabled or disabled individually
  • Combined with organization instructions (if applicable)

Creating AI Instructions

To create a new AI instruction:

  1. Navigate to Settings > AI > AI Chat Instructions
  2. Click Create New Instruction
  3. Fill in the instruction details:
    • Name: A descriptive name for the instruction (max 50 characters)
    • Description: Brief explanation of what the instruction does (max 150 characters)
    • Instruction: The actual instruction text (max 2000 characters)
    • Enabled: Toggle to enable or disable the instruction
  4. Click Save to create the instruction

Instruction Limit: You can create up to 5 personal instructions. Delete or disable existing instructions to make room for new ones.

Instruction Components

Each AI instruction consists of three parts:

Name

A short, descriptive name that helps you identify the instruction. This is for your reference only and doesn't affect AI behavior.

Examples:

  • "Formal Business Tone"
  • "Technical Documentation Style"
  • "Data Privacy Guidelines"

Description

A brief explanation of what the instruction accomplishes. This helps you remember the purpose of each instruction when managing multiple instructions.

Examples:

  • "Ensures all responses use formal business language"
  • "Formats technical content with code examples and structured explanations"
  • "Prevents inclusion of personally identifiable information"

Instruction

The actual instruction text that guides AI behavior. This is the content that gets included with your AI Chat queries.

Example Instruction Text:

Always format technical explanations with:
1. A brief overview
2. Step-by-step instructions
3. Code examples where applicable
4. Common pitfalls to avoid

Use markdown formatting for code blocks and lists.

Managing Instructions

Editing Instructions

To modify an existing instruction:

  1. Find the instruction in your instructions list
  2. Click Edit
  3. Modify the name, description, or instruction text
  4. Toggle the enabled status if needed
  5. Click Save to apply changes

Enabling and Disabling

Toggle Instructions: You can enable or disable individual instructions without deleting them. Disabled instructions are not included in AI Chat conversations but remain saved for future use.

Deleting Instructions

To remove an instruction:

  1. Find the instruction you want to delete
  2. Click Delete
  3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog

Note: Deleted instructions cannot be recovered. Consider disabling instead if you might need the instruction later.

Personal vs Organization Instructions

Understanding the difference between personal and organization instructions is important:

Personal Instructions

  • Created by: Individual users
  • Scope: Apply only to your AI Chat conversations
  • Control: You can create, edit, enable, disable, and delete them
  • Limit: Maximum of 5 instructions per user
  • Purpose: Customize AI behavior to your personal preferences

Organization Instructions

  • Created by: Organization administrators
  • Scope: Apply to all organization members automatically
  • Control: Only administrators can manage them
  • Limit: Maximum of 10 instructions per organization
  • Purpose: Ensure compliance and consistency across the organization
  • Cannot be disabled: Organization instructions are always active for members

Instruction Hierarchy

When both personal and organization instructions exist:

  1. Organization instructions are applied first (mandatory)
  2. Personal instructions are applied second (your customization)
  3. Both sets are combined and included with every AI Chat query

This ensures organizational compliance while allowing personal customization.

Use Cases and Examples

Writing Style Customization

Instruction Name: "Academic Writing Style"

Instruction Text:

Use formal academic writing style with:
- Third-person perspective
- Evidence-based claims
- Proper citations format
- Structured arguments with clear thesis statements

Industry-Specific Guidelines

Instruction Name: "Legal Document Analysis"

Instruction Text:

When analyzing legal documents:
- Identify key clauses and terms
- Highlight potential risks or concerns
- Use legal terminology accurately
- Provide context for non-legal readers
- Flag items requiring legal review

Output Format Preferences

Instruction Name: "Structured Reports"

Instruction Text:

Format all analysis as structured reports with:
## Executive Summary
[Brief overview]

## Key Findings
[Main points]

## Recommendations
[Action items]

## Appendix
[Supporting details]

Privacy and Security

Instruction Name: "Data Privacy"

Instruction Text:

Never include:
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Physical addresses
- Social security numbers
- Credit card information

If such information appears in source documents, redact or anonymize it in responses.

Best Practices

Be Specific

Good: "Always include code examples in Python with comments explaining each step."

Less Effective: "Make it technical."

Use Examples

Include examples of desired output format or behavior to guide the AI more effectively.

Test Thoroughly

After creating an instruction, test it with sample queries to ensure it produces the desired results.

Regular Review

Periodically review your instructions to ensure they're still relevant and effective. Update or remove instructions that no longer serve your needs.

Combine Strategically

With a limit of 5 instructions, choose instructions that complement each other and cover your most important needs.

Consider Organization Context

If your organization has mandatory instructions, ensure your personal instructions work well with them rather than contradicting them.

How Instructions Are Applied

When you send a message in AI Chat:

  1. Organization Instructions (if any) are prepended to your query
  2. Your Personal Instructions (enabled ones) are added
  3. Your Actual Question follows the instructions
  4. The AI processes the complete prompt and responds accordingly

This happens automatically - you don't need to manually include instructions in each query.

Limitations

  • Character Limits: Name (50), Description (150), Instruction (2000)
  • Instruction Count: Maximum 5 personal instructions
  • No Variables: Instructions are static text - they don't support dynamic content
  • Site Context: Instructions apply to all your AI Chat conversations, not site-specific