Tool guides

Set Your AI Instructions

Prepare a portable set of preferences that you can inspect and choose when to use.

Opened this guide from a tool? Return to that tab to continue your unfinished work.

A Worked Example

Job: Summarize internal notes for a team update.

Starting material: A useful starting rule is: name the source for each number and say when the notes do not support a claim.

Useful Result to Aim For

The file groups only the rules you selected. A current task can add narrower instructions; the task and its source limits take precedence when you deliberately include selected rules.

What to check: Read the exact file before using it. One optional sample or test cannot prove that an outside AI will follow every rule.

Do It in the Tool

  1. Start small. Name the reader, a few always or never rules and the answer form.
  2. Preview the file. Read each rule before copying or downloading it.
  3. Try a sample. Test the file in your own AI and revise rules it missed.

The local sample helps you prepare a test. It does not call an AI or prove compliance.

Video walkthrough planned: Set Your AI Instructions. Use the written steps above now.

Start With a Few Rules

Choose a reader, a few always or never rules and the answer form you want. Inspect the generated file and remove any rule that does not fit your work.

What Each Rule Group Does

When
Name a situation and response, such as saying what would settle uncertainty.
Never
Name something to avoid, such as inventing facts, numbers, quotes or sources.
Always
Name something to do every time, such as stating assumptions.
Prefer
Choose one style over another, such as plain words over formal ones.
Tone
Describe the voice, such as a helpful colleague rather than a salesperson.
Format
Say how long and how laid out the answer should be.
Sources
Say what material the AI may rely on and how to name it for numbers and quotes.
Checking
Ask it to list anything it could not check before you use the answer.
Ask Me First
Tell it what to ask before starting, such as who will read the answer.

Use the File in Your Own AI

Copy or download the file. Paste it at the start of a chat, or save it in your AI’s instructions area if that AI offers one. Use selected rules as task context only when they fit the current work.

Try One Optional Sample

Test one real task in your own AI. Mark each rule Followed, Missed, Not applicable, Unable to judge or Not reviewed. If a repeated problem appears, revise the rule and use the new file.

What a Sample Cannot Prove

The local sample prepares a test but does not call AI. One outside reply cannot prove that every future answer will follow the instructions.

Take Away the Result

Copy or download the instructions file, then choose whether to put it in your own AI or include selected rules in one task.

Keep or Recover Your Work

The public answers are session-only unless you save a named Lab item or export an editable work file. Reimporting that validated file restores the fields; a copied final instruction alone does not.

For unfinished work, switch back to your original tool tab. The link below opens a fresh tool page here.

Return to Open AI Instructions