Using instructions to influence AI agent responses

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">You can create instructions for your AI agents that let you control their behavior in ways beyondcustomizing their persona, tone of voice, and pronoun formality. Instructions let you balance generative AI's automation potential to solve more customer requests without requiring human intervention, while preserving a precise level of control that helps you protect your brand.</p>
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<p class="p">You can create instructions for your AI agents that let you control their behavior in
ways beyond <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357758773658" target="_blank">customizing their persona, tone of voice, and pronoun
formality</a>. Instructions let you balance generative AI's automation potential
to solve more customer requests without requiring human intervention, while preserving a
precise level of control that helps you protect your brand. </p>
<p class="p">This article contains the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="instructions__ul_qwt_jrf_52c">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_qrh_krf_52c">About instructions</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ccv_krf_52c">Creating instructions</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_qrg_lrf_52c">Testing instructions</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_p35_lrf_52c">Editing instructions</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_zlh_mrf_52c">Deleting instructions</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Related article:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="instructions__ul_brg_nrf_52c">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8719119396506" target="_blank">Best practices for using instructions and custom
tone of voice to influence AI agent responses</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_qrh_krf_52c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">About instructions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Instructions let you customize your AI agents’ responses beyond tone of voice,
response lengths, and pronoun formality. For example, you can create instructions
that tell your AI agents to: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_qrh_krf_52c__ul_e3x_csf_52c">
<li class="li">Follow an in-house style guide that includes specific terminology or formatting. </li>
<li class="li">Avoid specific phrases or responses that shouldn’t be used with customers (for
example, “According to the sources” or “Contact customer support”). </li>
<li class="li">Respond in specified ways to particular user messages (for example, to always
include a specific hyperlink in responses about a given topic). </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Instructions are configured at the AI agent–level.</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="topic_anv_lc4_nhc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">Limitations of instructions</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Instructions allow you to refine an AI agent's responses beyond just tone of
voice. They can enforce specific language, avoid certain phrases, or ensure key
information is included in replies. </p>
<p class="p">What instructions can’t do, however, is fundamentally change the content returned
by the AI agent. For example, instructions cannot be used to search a different
knowledge source or to cause an escalation. </p>
<p class="p">Instructions are applied after the AI agent has understood the end user’s
message, queried a knowledge source accordingly, and generated an answer ready
to be sent back to the end user. At this point in the process, instructions can
be used to shape—but not fundamentally change—the way that answer is presented
to the end user. </p>
<p class="p">Additionally, instructions have a specific limitation when it comes to links and
other content that appears in the source but was not directly used to generate a
factual answer. As a result, instructions similar to the following won’t work:
"When the article includes a product link, always include it in your response."
The process that interprets instructions has no visibility into the content of
the article that contains the link, so it either does nothing or risks
hallucinating a non-existent link. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ccv_krf_52c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Creating instructions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For each AI agent, you can create up to 40 instructions that influence its responses
to customers. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To create an instruction</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ccv_krf_52c__ol_srr_dsf_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_ccv_krf_52c__d9e249" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Instructions</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create instruction</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ccv_krf_52c__image_yxp_fsf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_add_button.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">Name</strong>, enter a descriptive name for the instruction.<p class="p">The name is
shown to admins on the Instructions settings page and is never shown to
customers nor sent to the AI agent.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">How would you like the AI agent to respond?</strong>, enter a description
of how the AI agent should respond to the customer.<p class="p">For example, “Always
use the term Acme Labs™ instead of Acme.” </p>
</li>
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">Status</strong>, select either of the following options: <ul class="ul" id="topic_ccv_krf_52c__ol_ryf_qsf_52c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Inactive</strong>: (Default) The AI agent won’t follow the instruction
in real situations with customers, but you can still test it behind
the scenes. </li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Active</strong>: The AI agent immediately starts following the
instruction. In production environments, it’s not recommended to set
an instruction to Active until after you’ve tested it.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ccv_krf_52c__image_g1y_qsf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_add_window.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create</strong>. </li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Testing instructions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Before setting any instructions to active, it’s highly recommended to test them
thoroughly to help ensure that they affect the AI agent’s responses as you expect. </p>
<p class="p">On the Instructions page, you can test instructions individually or in bulk. How and
where you conduct the testing affects what information the system evaluates as part
of the test: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__ul_p1v_wsf_52c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">When you test an individual instruction</strong> using the in-line Test button,
the system evaluates that instruction <em class="ph i">plus</em> any currently active
instructions. It does not evaluate any other inactive instructions. </li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">When you test multiple instructions in bulk</strong>, the system evaluates
<em class="ph i">only</em> the instructions you’ve selected. Any other non-selected
instructions, regardless of their active/inactive status, are not evaluated.
</li>
</ul>
<div class="p">
<div class="note tip" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__note_rj3_tsf_52c">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> From any page in the AI agents workspace, you
can also use the Test AI agent button at the top to simulate the current
customer experience. This type of testing evaluates all currently active
settings, including instructions. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357758879130" target="_blank">Testing conversation flows in AI
agents</a>. </div>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To test an individual instruction</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__ol_thb_wsf_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__d9e249" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Instructions</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the instruction you want to edit. </li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Test</strong> to open a test window on the right, where you can get an
idea of how the instruction affects the AI agent’s responses.<p class="p">During this
testing, the system evaluates this instruction <em class="ph i">plus</em> any currently
active instructions. Any other inactive instructions are
ignored.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__image_o3m_1tf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_test_individual.png" width="600"></p>
<div class="note tip" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__note_tls_ysf_52c">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> If you want to test a single instruction and ignore all other
instructions, regardless of their status, you can use the bulk testing
method (described next) and select only a single instruction for
testing. </div>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To test multiple instructions together</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__ol_p5x_vsf_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__d9e249" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Instructions</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select the checkboxes to the left of the instructions you want to test. </li>
<li class="li">In the menu that appears at the bottom of the screen, click the options menu
(<img class="image" height="16" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__image_kmm_btf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_menu_vertical.png" width="16">) and select <strong class="ph b">Test
selected</strong>. <p class="p">A test window opens on the right, where you can get an
idea of how these instructions affect the AI agent’s responses. During
this testing, the system evaluates <em class="ph i">only</em> the instructions you
selected. All other non-selected instructions are ignored, even if
they’re active.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_qrg_lrf_52c__image_vhd_2tf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_test_multiple.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_p35_lrf_52c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Editing instructions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can edit an instruction, even if it’s active, and test the edits without
affecting the customer experience. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To edit an instruction</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_p35_lrf_52c__ol_r4b_htf_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_p35_lrf_52c__d9e249" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Instructions</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the instruction you want to edit.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_p35_lrf_52c__image_gsj_3tf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_edit.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Update the instruction’s details as needed.<p class="p">For help, see <a class="xref" href="#topic_ccv_krf_52c">Creating instructions</a>. </p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Test</strong> to open a test window on the right, where you can get an
idea of how these edits affect the AI agent’s responses before
proceeding.<p class="p">During this testing, the system evaluates this instruction
<em class="ph i">plus</em> any currently active instructions. </p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save changes</strong>. </li>
<li class="li">If the instruction is currently active, click <strong class="ph b">Proceed</strong> in the <strong class="ph b">Save
instruction</strong> window to confirm that you want to overwrite the
previous version of the instruction with this new version.<p class="p">Any changes to
an active instruction will immediately affect the AI agent’s
interactions with customers.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_p35_lrf_52c__image_dbh_mtf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_save_live.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Deleting instructions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can delete instructions you no longer need, either one at a time or in bulk. </p>
<p class="p">Deleting an instruction is permanent and cannot be undone. When an instruction is
deleted, the AI agent immediately stops following that instruction. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To delete an individual instruction</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__ol_gp3_ntf_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__d9e249" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Instructions</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Find the instruction you want to delete. </li>
<li class="li">Click the options menu (<img class="image" height="16" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__image_urf_qtf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_menu_vertical.png" width="16">) and select
<strong class="ph b">Delete</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To delete multiple instructions</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__ol_wyn_4tf_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__d9e249" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Instructions</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select the checkboxes to the left of the instructions you want to delete. </li>
<li class="li">In the menu that appears at the bottom of the screen, click the options menu
(<img class="image" height="16" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__image_u5c_qtf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_menu_vertical.png" width="16">) and select <strong class="ph b">Delete
instructions</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_zlh_mrf_52c__image_nhj_stf_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ultimate_instructions_delete_multiple.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">In the <strong class="ph b">Delete instructions</strong> window that appears, click
<strong class="ph b">Delete</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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