Brand voice and custom instructions
Make your Aijent sound like your business rather than like software.
Brand voice and custom instructions is a free-text box on your Aijent's Config tab. Whatever you write there is woven into every conversation: how you sound, words you use, things to always do and never say. It is the single biggest lever on how your Aijent comes across, and most people never touch it.
Out of the box your Aijent is clear, natural and helpful. That is a good default, but it is not you. This is where you close that gap.
Everything here is on the Config tab of your Aijent.
Start with the basics
Its name. What visitors see it called. A real first name reads far better than "Assistant".
Tone preset. Professional, Friendly, Direct or Consultative. This sets the overall register.
Language. English AU/UK or English US. This controls spelling and date format, so "organise" against "organize" and how dates are written.
Language is spelling, not translation
This setting does not make your Aijent speak another language. It chooses between English conventions. Your Aijent replies in the language of your knowledge base and the conversation.
Brand voice and custom instructions
This is the free-text box that does the real work.
Whatever you write here is woven into every conversation. Use it for how you sound, what you always do, and what you never say.
Leave it blank and your Aijent uses its defaults, which is perfectly fine. But this is where a generic assistant becomes recognisably your business.
What to actually write
Think about briefing a new person on their first day. Not the product, which your knowledge base covers, but how we talk to people here.
How you sound. "We are warm and direct. Short sentences. Never corporate."
Words you use, and words you do not. "We say clients, never customers. Never say 'solutions'. Never use exclamation marks."
Things to always do. "Always ask which state they are in, because our pricing differs." "Always mention our 30 day guarantee when someone hesitates on price."
Things to never do. "Never promise a delivery date." "Never discuss competitors by name." "Never say we are the cheapest."
Context a website cannot convey. "Most of our enquiries are second-time renovators, so assume some knowledge but never assume budget."
Being specific matters
Vague instructions produce vague results. "Be professional" adds almost nothing. "Never use jargon, explain everything as you would to a smart friend who does not work in our industry" changes every reply.
The best test is whether somebody in your team could follow the instruction and you would recognise their answer as right.
What it will not do
It will not invent facts. Instructions shape how your Aijent speaks, not what it knows. If you tell it to mention a guarantee, but the guarantee is not in your knowledge base, it has nothing to say about it. Put facts in your knowledge base, and voice here.
It will not override honesty. Your Aijent will still say when it does not know. You cannot instruct that away, and you would not want to: it is what makes it safe in front of customers.
Test after you change it
Save, then have a real conversation with your own Aijent. Voice changes are hard to judge on paper and obvious within three exchanges.
Try the awkward moments especially: someone pushing on price, someone asking something you do not offer, someone being blunt. That is where a voice either holds up or falls apart.
A different voice per Aijent
Each Aijent has its own settings, so a sales Aijent and a support Aijent can sound quite different. Support usually wants calmer and more practical; sales can carry more energy.
Keep it short and single-minded
Long, contradictory instructions work less well than a few clear ones. If you tell it to be brief and also to explain thoroughly, you get neither reliably. Pick the posture you want and be consistent.