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Three things shape what your chatbot says: The chatbot uses your persona and your active instructions in every answer. Put facts in your content or in a custom response, not in instructions. To learn how these fit together, see How answers work.

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Before you start

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Write instructions

1

Open Chatbot Instructions

In your chatbot’s sidebar, select Chatbot Instructions. You can also go to Settings > Instructions.
2

Add new instructions

Under Custom Instructions, select Add New Instructions.
3

Write your rules

In Instructions, write your rules. Write one rule per line, in plain words.
4

Save

Select Add Instructions.
SiteGPT gives the new instruction set a name like “Custom Instructions #123”. To rename it, edit it and change Title. If this is your first instruction set, it becomes active at once. If you already have one, choose which one is active.

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Choose the active instructions

Only one instruction set is active at a time. Put all your rules in that one set.
1

Open the Instructions page

Go to Settings > Instructions.
2

Select an instruction set

Select the instruction set you want. To use no custom instructions, select None under Default Instructions.
3

Save

Select Save Changes.
To see the rules in an instruction set, select View Details. You cannot delete the active instruction set. Select a different one first.

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Change the Creativity Level

Each instruction set has a Creativity Level. It controls how freely the chatbot words its answers.
1

Edit the instruction set

On the Instructions page, select the Edit icon on the instruction set.
2

Move the slider

Move Creativity Level between More Focused (0) and More Random & Creative (1). The default is 0.5.
3

Save

Select Update Instructions.
For support chatbots, keep the level low so answers stay close to your content. The Creativity Level only applies while that instruction set is active.

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Choose a persona

A persona sets the tone of every answer. There are 12 built-in personas: If you do not choose a persona, the chatbot uses Default. Default keeps answers short. If your answers feel cut off, try Default (Classic) or Informative.
1

Open Chatbot Persona

In your chatbot’s sidebar, select Chatbot Persona. You can also go to Settings > Personas.
2

Select a persona

Select a persona under Default Personas or Custom Personas.
3

Save

Select Save Changes.

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Add a custom persona

You cannot edit or delete the built-in personas. To use your own tone, add a custom persona.
1

Add a persona

On the Personas page, under Custom Personas, select Add New Persona.
2

Fill in the fields

Enter a Title and a short Description. In Instructions, describe the tone. For example: “Friendly and calm. Use simple words. Keep answers under 5 sentences.”
3

Save

Select Add Persona. If this is your first custom persona, it becomes active at once. Otherwise, select it and select Save Changes to make it active.

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Example instructions

These are examples. Change the names, links, and topics to match your business before you use them.
Example instructions
The current date and time are included in each conversation, so date rules like the one above work. The time comes from SiteGPT’s server and may be in a different time zone from yours. Write date rules with dates, not times of day.
For more ways to keep the chatbot in scope, see Keep answers on topic.

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Check that it works

Open the chat button in the corner of your dashboard and start a new conversation. Ask a question that one of your rules covers. The answer follows the rule and uses the tone of your persona. If the chatbot does not follow a rule, make the rule shorter and more direct. You can also try the GPT-4.1 model. See Choose a model.