Customize AI behavior differently for each live chat agent on your team. This allows personalized AI assistance that adapts to each agent's style, expertise, and preferences.
How to get there: Go to Setup → Chatbot in the top menu → click your chatbot → Behavior → Instructions tab (under the More section in the sidebar).
While your chatbot has global custom instructions that apply to all AI responses, agent-specific instructions override or supplement these when a conversation is assigned to a particular agent.
Think of it as: Global instructions = Company voice, Specific instructions = Individual agent personality
All conversations use the same AI behavior:
"You are a helpful support assistant for [Company].
Always be professional and concise."Every agent gets AI assistance with identical behavior.
When assigned to Sarah (Sales):
"Focus on product benefits and ROI.
Highlight enterprise features. Ask for budget and timeline."
When assigned to Mike (Technical Support):
"Provide detailed technical explanations.
Ask for error messages and logs. Reference documentation."
When assigned to Lisa (Customer Success):
"Be empathetic and solution-focused.
Emphasize long-term relationship. Offer training resources."Each agent gets AI assistance tailored to their role and style.
Sales Agents:
- Focus on value proposition and ROI
- Ask qualifying questions (budget, decision maker, timeline)
- Suggest scheduling a demo
- Highlight case studies and success stories
- Be persuasive and confidentSupport Agents:
- Prioritize solving the immediate problem
- Ask for detailed error information
- Reference help documentation
- Be patient and thorough
- Offer step-by-step guidanceCustomer Success:
- Focus on customer goals and outcomes
- Suggest best practices and optimization
- Offer training and education
- Build long-term relationships
- Proactive problem-solvingSenior Agents:
- Provide advanced technical details
- Assume customer has basic knowledge
- Use industry terminology
- Offer architecture-level guidanceJunior Agents:
- Provide more context and explanation
- Use simpler language
- Include links to documentation
- Suggest when to escalate to senior agentEnglish-speaking agents:
- Use American English spelling
- Reference USD pricing
- Mention US business hoursSpanish-speaking agents:
- Respond in Spanish
- Reference EUR/MXN pricing
- Adapt to regional customsAgent #1 (Formal):
- Use professional, formal tone
- Complete sentences
- Proper grammar and punctuationAgent #2 (Casual):
- Friendly, conversational tone
- Use emojis occasionally
- Be approachable and warmWrite clear, specific instructions for how AI should behave for this agent:
Good examples:
"When assisting this agent:
- Focus on technical accuracy
- Always include code examples when relevant
- Reference the API documentation
- Ask for programming language being used
- Be detailed and thorough""This agent handles enterprise sales:
- Ask about company size and use case
- Emphasize security and compliance features
- Suggest scheduling a call with their manager
- Be confident and consultative
- Mention SLA and premium support"Bad examples:
"Help the customer" // Too vague
"Be different" // Doesn't explain how
"Sales" // Not enough detailSet up specific instructions for each agent on your team, or just the ones that need customization (others will use global instructions).
Agent-specific instructions work in addition to global instructions:
Global Instructions (apply to all):
"You are a helpful assistant for Acme Corp.
Always be professional and respectful.
Never share pricing without qualifying the lead."Agent-Specific (for Sales Agent):
"Focus on ROI and business value.
Ask about budget and timeline.
Suggest booking a demo."Result for Sales Agent:
The AI follows BOTH sets of instructions - being professional and respectful (global) while also focusing on ROI and demos (specific).
If specific instructions contradict global:
Example:
Define your company-wide voice and rules first:
Then add agent-specific only where needed.
Each agent's instructions should be:
Match instructions to actual agent expertise:
Ask agents:
Refine instructions based on their input.
Check that instructions work for:
Keep notes on why each agent has specific instructions:
Sarah - Sales focus (hired specifically for enterprise)
Mike - Technical (Senior engineer, handles complex issues)
Lisa - Onboarding (New hire, needs more guidance from AI)Reference the agent's name in instructions:
"When helping Lisa, remember she's new to the team.
Provide extra context and suggest when to ask manager for help."Use instructions that adapt:
"If customer mentions integration:
- Ask which platform they use
- Reference our API docs
- Offer to schedule technical call
If customer mentions pricing:
- Qualify their company size first
- Don't share exact pricing
- Suggest demo to discuss custom pricing"Define what the AI should/shouldn't attempt:
"This agent handles:
- Product questions
- Basic troubleshooting
- Feature requests
This agent does NOT handle:
- Billing issues (escalate to billing team)
- Legal questions (escalate to manager)
- Custom development (escalate to solutions team)"Include suggested structures:
"When answering technical questions, follow this structure:
1. Acknowledge the question
2. Provide step-by-step solution
3. Ask if they need clarification
4. Offer link to documentation"Regular Support Agent:
"Focus on order status, shipping, and returns.
Always ask for order number.
Be empathetic about delays.
Offer discount codes for issues (10% max).
Escalate refund requests > $100."VIP Support Agent:
"Serve high-value customers (LTV > $1000).
Be extra accommodating.
Offer expedited shipping for free.
Can approve refunds up to $500.
Emphasize exclusive perks."Trial Support Agent:
"Help users get value from trial quickly.
Focus on core features and quick wins.
Ask about their use case and goals.
Suggest relevant tutorials.
Gently remind of trial expiration."Enterprise Support Agent:
"Handle complex enterprise accounts.
Focus on integration and API questions.
Emphasize security and compliance.
Offer architecture review.
Can escalate to solutions engineer."Consultation Scheduler:
"Goal: Book consultation calls.
Ask about their current challenges.
Emphasize expertise and track record.
Suggest specific time slots.
Collect detailed contact info."Project Manager:
"Handle existing client questions.
Focus on project progress and next steps.
Be proactive about potential issues.
Offer status updates.
Coordinate with other team members."Check:
Fix:
Cause: Instructions might be ambiguous
Fix:
Cause: Specific instructions not set
Fix:
Copy and customize for each agent:
## Agent: [NAME]
## Role: [Sales/Support/Success]
## Expertise: [Junior/Senior]
### Primary Focus:
- [Key responsibility 1]
- [Key responsibility 2]
- [Key responsibility 3]
### Communication Style:
- Tone: [Formal/Casual/Friendly]
- Detail Level: [Concise/Detailed]
- Language: [English/Spanish/etc]
### Do's:
- ✅ [Specific action 1]
- ✅ [Specific action 2]
- ✅ [Specific action 3]
### Don'ts:
- ❌ [What to avoid 1]
- ❌ [What to avoid 2]
### Escalation Criteria:
- [When to escalate to manager]
- [When to route to another team]Fill this out for each agent, then paste the result into their specific instructions field.
Track whether agent-specific instructions help:
Metrics to monitor:
Ask agents monthly:
Continuously refine based on feedback.