--- title: AI Instructions description: >- Create personalized AI instructions in Clear Ideas. Learn how to customize AI behavior with personal instructions, understand the difference from organization instructions, and best practices. ogTitle: AI Instructions Guide ogDescription: >- Master AI instructions in Clear Ideas. Create personalized AI behavior, understand instruction hierarchy, and optimize AI interactions ogImage: /assets/images/og/ai-ai-instructions.webp navigation: icon: fasl fa-file-pen --- # 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** button 3. Fill in the instruction details in the dialog: - **Name**: A descriptive name for the instruction (required, max 100 characters) - **Description**: Brief explanation of what the instruction does (optional, max 500 characters) - **Instruction**: The actual instruction text that guides AI behavior (required, max 5000 characters) - **Enabled**: Toggle checkbox to enable or disable the instruction (enabled by default) 4. Click **Save** to create the instruction 5. The instruction is immediately active if enabled **Instruction Limit**: You can create up to 5 personal instructions. If you've reached the limit, you'll see a message indicating the maximum has been reached. Delete or disable existing instructions to make room for new ones. **Validation**: - Instruction name must be unique among your personal instructions - All required fields must be filled before saving - Character limits are enforced to ensure optimal performance ## 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. ## Instruction Management Interface The AI Instructions page provides a user-friendly interface for managing your instructions: ### Instructions List Your instructions are displayed in a list showing: - **Name**: The instruction name for quick identification - **Description**: Brief description of what the instruction does - **Status**: Enabled/disabled indicator - **Actions**: Edit and delete buttons for each instruction ### Empty State If you haven't created any instructions yet, you'll see: - A message indicating no instructions exist - A button to create your first instruction - Guidance on what instructions can do ### Instruction Limit Indicator When you've reached the maximum of 5 instructions: - The "Create New Instruction" button may be disabled or hidden - A message indicates you've reached the limit - You must delete or disable an existing instruction before creating a new one ## Limitations - **Character Limits**: - Name: Maximum 100 characters - Description: Maximum 500 characters - Instruction: Maximum 5000 characters - **Instruction Count**: Maximum 5 personal instructions - **Unique Names**: Each instruction name must be unique among your personal instructions - **No Variables**: Instructions are static text - they don't support dynamic content or Handlebars templating - **Site Context**: Instructions apply to all your AI Chat conversations across all sites, not site-specific - **No Conditional Logic**: Instructions are always included when enabled - they don't support conditional application ## Related Documentation - [AI Chat](/ai/ai-chat) - Learn about AI Chat features - [Organization Settings](/organizations/organization-settings) - Understand organization instructions - [Prompt Best Practices](/ai/prompt-best-practices) - Tips for effective AI interactions