AI Instruction Builder
Good instructions are what give your AI its personality and its rules. You do not have to write them from a blank page. ChatGenius gives you two ways to get there: a conversational builder powered by Claude, and a one-click Improve tool that polishes what you already have.
Overview
Both tools live on the Identity tab of AI Configuration, right next to the Custom Rules & Guidelines box where your instructions are stored:
- Describe Your AI opens the full builder, where you chat with Claude and watch your instructions appear live. Best for starting from scratch.
- Improve (the magic wand) rewrites the instructions you already have using best practices. Best for tidying up.
Whichever you use, the result is plain-text instructions (up to 15,000 characters) that you can edit by hand at any time.
Instructions vs Knowledge
Before you write anything, hold onto the core split that runs through all of ChatGenius:
- Instructions are behavior: personality, voice, rules, what to recommend, how to handle specific situations.
- The Knowledge Base is facts: prices, hours, services, policies, FAQs.
Do not paste FAQs or long question-and-answer lists into your instructions. Those belong in the Knowledge Base, where the AI looks them up. Instructions are for how to act, not for facts you will keep changing.
What the Platform Handles For You
The most common mistake is writing instructions for things ChatGenius already does on its own. You do not need to mention any of these, and leaving them out keeps your instructions short and conflict-free:
- Showing your business hours and availability
- The booking and appointment flow
- Blocking off-limits topics (handled by your Restrictions)
- Capturing leads (handled by your goals)
- Handing off to a human (handled by escalation)
- Looking things up in your Knowledge Base
- Staying accurate and not making things up
- General style: keeping replies short, matching the customer's energy, using bullets for steps, and asking a clarifying question when something is unclear
Both tools are built to strip these out automatically, so if you describe them, they will be removed. Spend your instructions on what only you can provide, covered in What to Include.
Describe Your AI Claude
Click Describe Your AI on the Identity tab to open the builder. Tell Claude about your business in plain English, the way you would brief a new employee: your industry, your tone, what the AI should always do, what it should never do, and any specific scripts or contact details. The more you give it, the better the result.
The builder is a desktop feature, because it needs room for its three side-by-side panes. On mobile, use the Improve tool instead to refine instructions you have already started.
The Three Panes
The builder is a single workspace split into three columns:
- Chat: your conversation with Claude. Describe your business and ask for changes in plain language (for example, "make it warmer" or "add a rule about deposits").
- Instructions: a live preview of the generated instructions. It updates as you chat, and you can edit the text directly at any time.
- Test Bot: try the current draft instantly. Send a customer-style message and see how the AI would respond. It clears on each new generation so you always test the latest version.
When you are happy, click Save & Use and the draft becomes your live instructions. There is also a reset button to start the chat over and a light or dark theme toggle.
Generation Limits
Each message you send Claude in the builder counts as one generation, tracked monthly. The chip in the header shows how many you have used. Editing the text yourself or running the Test Bot does not count against the limit.
| Plan | Builder generations / month |
|---|---|
| Free | 1 |
| Creator | 10 |
| Professional | 30 |
| Business | 100 |
| Enterprise | Custom |
If you run out, you can still edit and save your current draft by hand. The limit only applies to new Claude generations.
Improve with AI
Already have instructions, or a rough set of notes? Click the magic wand next to the Custom Rules box. It rewrites your text using chatbot best practices and shows you a before-and-after so you can Apply the new version or keep your original. It works on mobile as well as desktop.
It adapts to what you give it:
- Rough notes get expanded into detailed, business-specific instructions. "Be friendly" becomes something like "Use a warm, upbeat tone and address customers by name."
- Already-detailed instructions get a lighter touch. It keeps your specific examples, scripts, links, and contact details exactly as written, and only trims redundancy and tightens wording.
The builder is powered by Claude; the Improve tool runs on a separate model tuned for editing. Different engines, same goal: instructions that sound like your business and stay out of the platform's way.
What to Include
Strong instructions cover the things only you know about your business:
- Personality and voice: the brand character you want to come through.
- Your language: industry terms, jargon, and phrases you actually use.
- How to talk about your products: the authentic way you describe what you offer.
- Custom rules: specific do's and don'ts unique to your business.
- Common situations: how to handle the scenarios your customers bring up most.
- What makes you different: the thing that sets you apart from competitors.
- Key contact details or short scripts the AI should have on hand.
Examples
A few patterns that work well:
- Turn vague into concrete. Instead of "be professional," write "Keep a calm, reassuring tone. Confirm you understand the issue before offering a solution."
- Give clear do's and don'ts. "Always recommend the membership before a single session." "Never quote a price without first asking for the customer's zip code."
- Set the brand voice. "We are a neighborhood surf shop. Keep it laid-back and use a little surf slang, but never be pushy about a sale."
- Name specific handling. "If someone asks about a refund, express empathy first, then point them to our 30-day policy and offer to connect them with the team."
Write the instruction, then open the Test Bot and ask it the question a customer would. If the reply is not quite right, adjust the instruction and test again. A few rounds of this beats a long block of rules written all at once.
FAQ
Do I have to use the builder?
No. You can type instructions directly into the Custom Rules box. The builder and Improve tool are there to help, not required.
Why is the builder desktop only?
It shows the chat, the live instructions, and a test bot side by side, which needs a wider screen. On mobile, use the Improve magic wand to refine instructions instead.
What happens when I hit my generation limit?
You can still edit your draft by hand and save it. The monthly limit only counts new Claude generations, and it resets each month. You can also upgrade for more.
Will it overwrite my existing instructions?
Only when you choose to. The builder asks you to click Save & Use, and Improve shows a before-and-after with an Apply button. Nothing changes until you confirm.
Can I put my FAQs in the instructions?
Better not to. FAQs belong in the Knowledge Base, where the AI retrieves them as needed. Both tools will strip long question-and-answer lists out of your instructions for this reason.
Does it write in Markdown?
No. Instructions are plain text with simple labels and bullets, no headers or formatting symbols. That is intentional, since the AI reads them as guidance rather than as a document to display.
Next Steps
- Set your tone, goals, hours, and guardrails in AI Configuration.
- Add your facts in the Knowledge Base so the AI has something to answer from.
- Put it to work with Comment Triggers and Quick Replies.
- Browse the full documentation hub.