Define AI Behaviour | Documentation

This guide explains how to define how your AI representative communicates with visitors.

Privas AI does not automatically know how your business prefers to interact with customers.
You must guide it.

The representative’s behaviour is controlled using the System Prompt.

Why this step matters

Two representatives with the same knowledge can behave very differently.

Without clear behavioural guidance, the representative may:

respond too briefly
respond too technically
sound inconsistent
communicate in a tone that does not match your brand

Defining behaviour ensures the representative interacts with visitors in a way that reflects your company.

What is the System Prompt?

The System Prompt is a set of communication instructions applied to every conversation in this domain.

It does not change what the representative knows.
It changes how the representative communicates and uses its knowledge.

You can think of it like training a staff member:

knowledge → what they know
behaviour → how they talk

Both are required for a good interaction.

Step 1 — Open Behaviour Settings

Open your domain in the Domain Center
Navigate to AI Behaviour

Here you can edit the System Prompt.

System Prompt

Step 2 — Define the representative role

Start by describing who the representative is and what its purpose is.

Example:

The representative acts as a website representative who helps visitors understand the services and answer common questions.

This keeps conversations focused and prevents the assistant from behaving like a generic chatbot.

Step 3 — Define tone and communication style

Decide how the representative should communicate.

You may instruct it to be:

professional
friendly
concise
explanatory

Keep instructions clear and simple.
Short guidance is usually more effective than long, complex prompts.

Step 4 — Guide conversation behaviour

You can also define how the representative should handle conversations.

For example:

ask clarification questions when a request is unclear
guide visitors toward relevant information
avoid making assumptions when information is missing

The goal is for the representative to guide visitors, not just generate answers.

What to avoid

Do not:

paste company documentation into the System Prompt
write extremely long prompts
include product data, pricing, or policies

Business information belongs in knowledge sources, not in behaviour instructions.

Need help writing the System Prompt?

If you are unsure how to write the behaviour instructions, you can ask an AI assistant (such as ChatGPT or another AI writing tool) to help you draft it.

Describe your business and how you want the representative to communicate.

You can use this starter request:

I am setting up an AI website representative.

My business:
[Describe what your company does]

Target visitors:
[Who visits your website?]

Communication style:
[Professional, friendly, formal, casual, etc.]

Goals of the assistant:
[What the assistant should help visitors understand]

Please write a system prompt that guides the assistant to communicate properly with visitors.

After the AI generates a draft, review and adjust it so it matches your business tone.

Only copy the behavioural instructions.
Do not include company documentation, pricing, or detailed product information in the System Prompt.

Those should be added later as knowledge sources.

Important

The System Prompt controls communication style only.
It does not give the representative any business knowledge.

If you ask detailed questions now, the assistant may not answer correctly.
This is expected.

What happens after saving

After saving, the representative will follow these communication guidelines in every conversation.

The next step is providing the information it needs to answer visitor questions.

What’s next

Continue to Add Knowledge Sources to provide the representative with information it can use to assist visitors.