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Your agent reads your instructions every time it picks up a call or chat. You’ll find the instructions under AI on your agent. You can also edit and test them in one place in the Playground.
The AI page with the behaviour editor and the maximum conversation length slider

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What the agent already does on its own

You don’t need to write instructions for ordinary conversation. The agent sounds like a person, stays honest about what it knows, and keeps a natural rhythm. Use the instructions for what’s specific to your business.

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The agent adapts to the channel automatically

The same agent can take phone calls and chats. It knows how to behave for each one:
  • On the phone it speaks naturally with pauses. It reads numbers, dates, and prices the way you’d say them out loud (“Thursday the 14th of May”, not “14/05”).
  • In chat it structures answers with short paragraphs, bold words, and links. Long URLs become clean inline labels. There’s breathing room between thoughts.
You don’t need to do anything to make this work.

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Languages — one or many

If you’ve set up multiple languages under Phone → Settings (the Languages & voices section), the agent switches between them automatically mid-conversation. If a caller starts in English halfway through a Danish call, the agent just continues in English without asking. You don’t need to mention language switching in your instructions. It just works.

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What you should write

Use the instructions for what the agent can’t know on its own — the things that make you you:
  • Who the agent works for, and what role it plays
  • What you sell or help with
  • Things it must not do or promise
  • Specific words you use about your products
  • How you’d like it to handle common situations
A good example:
You work as a receptionist for Acme Dental. Be friendly and slightly formal. Never quote a price without checking with a dentist first. If the caller has acute pain, transfer them to the on-call dentist immediately. We call customers by their first name when we have their record on file.
Keep it short. Three to five sentences usually works best. If the list keeps growing, ask whether some of it belongs in Agent knowledge and training instead.

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What you shouldn’t write

  • “Be friendly” — it already is
  • “Listen before you reply” — it already does
  • “Don’t say you’re an AI” – the agent is honest about what it is if a caller asks. Instructions can’t change that
  • Long product explanations — those belong in Agent knowledge and training
  • Word-for-word scripts — instructions are guidelines, not a screenplay

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Adjust the tone with instructions

You shape the tone in the same place as everything else – the instructions. One sentence is often enough:
  • More warmth: “Be warm and welcoming.”
  • Shorter answers: “Keep answers short – max two sentences.”
  • More formal: “Be professional and slightly formal.”
  • More patience: “Take your time and let the caller finish.”

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How to test your way in

  1. Open the Playground in your agent’s menu.
  2. Start a phone or chat session and ask three or four realistic questions.
  3. Listen – not for errors, but for feel. Does it sound like you?
  4. Adjust one thing in the instructions at a time, then try again.

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When something still isn’t right

  • The agent promises things it shouldn’t: Spell it out plainly. “Never quote a price” works better than “be careful with prices”.
  • It sounds cold: Add “Be warm and welcoming”.
  • It talks too long: Add “Keep answers short – max two sentences”.
  • It says “Did that answer your question?” every time: Add “Only ask if my answer landed if the caller sounds unsure.”
  • It uses the wrong words for your products: Add them under Pronunciation, and put your glossary in Agent knowledge and training.

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Next steps