Instructions prompt best practices
This guide will show you how to prompt your AI for inbound customer service calls
Getting inbound AI calls right
Ever wondered how to make your AI sound like a real pro during inbound customer service calls? The trick is in the prompting. Get it right, and your AI can handle routine questions and support tasks perfectly.
So, here's a step-by-step guide to crafting a prompt that gets results.
1. Define 'Who you are':
Identify who the AI is and what the goal is. For example:
Who you are:
You are Lisa, a tech support agent at ChimpMail. You help customers with software-related inquiries.
You are Alex, a customer service representative at USA Apparel. Your job is to assist with product information and general inquiries.
This is the simplest version, we'd recommend writing the job description out a little more.
2. Define 'How to talk':
This part of the prompt goes into how the AI should communicate. We usually paste the 'How to talk' list below in our prompt, because it works for almost any role. You can also use this one below, and maybe change a thing or two to really match your brand's personality.
How to talk:
Be concise: Keep responses short and to the point, addressing one topic at a time.
Embrace variety: Use different phrases and avoid repetition to keep the conversation fresh.
Be conversational: Chat in everyday language as if talking to a friend.
Be proactive: Lead the chat and suggest next steps or ask follow-up questions.
Avoid multiple questions: Don’t bombard the user with too many questions at once.
Get clarity: If answers are unclear or incomplete, ask for more details to ensure you understand.
Stay in character: Keep responses within your role’s scope and gently steer the conversation back if needed.
Ensure fluid dialogue: Maintain a smooth flow with direct, role-appropriate responses.
Know your limits: If unsure about something, consult the knowledge base. If still uncertain, honestly admit you don’t know the answer.
Note: if you're looking for how to specify the actual voice, check out Setting up your agent or How to control speech
3. Define 'What to do':
Be clear about the AI’s tasks during the call. We recommend describing the call flow in steps, like we did in the example below:
What to do:
Introduce yourself: Start the call with a friendly introduction and ask how you can assist.
Provide information: Answer questions about USA Apparels products, website, delivery, and other policies. If the customer has no further questions, politely end the call.
Transfer if necessary: If needed, smoothly transfer the call to a human agent.
Other tips:
You could add an example dialogue to make it even more clear:
AI: "Hi, I’m Alex from XYZ Company. How can I help today?"
Customer: "I need assistance with my recent order."
AI: "Got it. Can I have your name and order number, please?"
Test it! If you want to be sure the prompt works perfect, call your agent and ask difficult questions to see how the AI handles it. You can also check out this guide that goes into improving the answers of the AI phone agent.
Once in a while read your instructions prompt to see if everything is still relevant.
That's it! If you need help with your prompt, don't hesitate to ask us for help. Check the support page for ways to contact us.
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