Customizing AI behavior (system prompts)
System prompts define how your AI agent behaves, and partially about what it knows.
They control tone, style, rules, and boundaries for how the AI responds to customers.
What a system prompt is
A system prompt is a set of instructions that tells the AI:
How to speak
What role it should play
What it should and should not do
How to handle uncertainty
It does not add new knowledge.
Knowledge comes from your sources.
Using prompt templates
HaloDesk provides pre-built prompt templates, such as:
Support Agent
Sales Assistant
These templates are based on proven support patterns and can be used as-is or customized.
Selecting a template automatically fills the system prompt for you.
Customizing the prompt
You can edit the system prompt to define:
Tone (formal, friendly, concise)
Rules (when to escalate, when to refuse)
Writing style
Brand voice
Changes take effect immediately and can be tested in the Playground.
What system prompts are best for
System prompts are ideal for:
Enforcing consistent tone
Preventing hallucinated answers
Guiding escalation behavior
Aligning AI responses with your brand
What to avoid
Don’t paste large documents into the system prompt
Don’t duplicate knowledge that already exists in sources
Don’t give conflicting instructions
If the prompt is too complex, responses may become inconsistent.
Best practices
Keep prompts concise and clear
Use bullet-style rules when possible
Test changes in the Playground
Update prompts only when behavior needs adjustment