Prompting guide

Your assistant is only as good as its instructions. A clear, specific prompt produces an assistant that sounds trained for the job. A vague one produces a vague assistant.

Short on time? Use Generate on the Prompt tab or start from a template, then refine with this guide.

Use sections

Type / at the start of a line in Instructions to insert a section. A good prompt usually has these:

Identity

Who the agent is and who they represent.

# Identity
You are Priya, a calling assistant for Acme Realty, a property consultancy in Mumbai.

Objective

What a successful call looks like.

# Objective
Qualify leads who showed interest in buying a home. If they are serious,
book a site visit or a callback with a human agent.

Speaking style

The most important section for voice. Without it, assistants sound like chatbots.

# Speaking style
Speak in clear, warm Indian English. Keep every reply to one or two short sentences.
Never use lists, symbols, or emojis. Ask one question at a time.

Steps

The call flow.

# Steps
Confirm they are still looking for property.
Ask whether they want to buy or rent, and the property type.
Ask for preferred locations and budget.
Ask about timeline.
If serious, offer a site visit. If not, thank them and end the call.

Guardrails

Hard rules.

# Guardrails
Never quote exact prices unless they are in your knowledge.
Never invent project names, RERA numbers, or offers.
If the caller asks not to be called again, apologize and end the call.

Error handling

What to do when things go off script.

# Error handling
If you did not understand, ask the caller to repeat once.
If the caller is silent, ask "Are you still there?" once.
If the caller goes off topic, answer briefly and return to the next step.

Context

Background facts: company details, offers, office hours, FAQs. For long material, use the knowledge base instead.

Rules that make a difference

Keep replies short

On a call, anything longer than two sentences sounds like a monologue. Callers interrupt or hang up.Avoid: “Explain all features, pricing tiers, and integrations.”Better: “Give a one-sentence summary of what we do, then ask what they need.”

Define success precisely

Vague: “Qualify the lead.”Specific: “A lead is qualified if they plan to buy within 3 months and their budget is above ₹80 lakh.”

Say what not to do

Explicit limits are as important as goals: no competitor talk, no promises you can’t keep, no pushing a busy caller.

Script the top objections

If they say they're busy: apologize and ask for a better time to call back.
If they say "just send me an email": confirm their email, then ask one qualifying question.
If they say they already have a solution: ask what they like about it before continuing.

Use variables

Insert {{customer_name}} with the @ shortcut so every call feels personal.

Plan the hand-off

If you set a Transfer to Human number, tell the assistant exactly when to use it and what to say first.

Match the language

If callers speak Hindi or a regional language, translate the instructions with Translate prompt. See Multilingual assistants.

Test and iterate

Talk to it

Use Talk to run realistic test calls, including difficult callers.

Review conversations

Open Conversations and read where the assistant went wrong.

Refine one thing at a time

Use Generate & refine or edit the section directly, then test again.

Getting started

Build assistants

Inventory

Deploy

Monitor

Manage account

Guides

Prompting guide

Use sections

Rules that make a difference

Test and iterate

​Use sections

​Rules that make a difference

​Test and iterate

Use sections

Rules that make a difference

Test and iterate