Conversation flow

The Instructions tab is where an agent goes from "generic AI" to "the person who answers our phone". This page is about writing them well. For the surrounding settings see Agents.

Guidelines, not scripts

The instinct is to write a script: "Say exactly this, then if they say X say exactly that." Resist it. A word-for-word script makes the agent sound stilted and, worse, breaks the moment a caller says something you didn't predict — which is most calls.

Write guidelines with intent instead:

Ask what treatment they're interested in before quoting anything. If they push for a price on implants, explain that it depends on the assessment and offer a free consultation.

The agent fills in the exact words naturally, and handles the variations you didn't think of.

The seven sections

They're concatenated in order to form the agent's brief, so think of them as one document with headings.

Role

Who the agent is, where it works, and its manner. Keep it short.

You are Ava, the receptionist at Lotus Dental in Leeds. You're warm, efficient, and never pushy.

Goal

What a good call achieves. This is what the agent optimises for when it has a choice, so be honest about your priority.

Get the caller booked into an appointment. If they're not ready to book, get their name and number and note what they were interested in.

What to do

The shape of a normal call. Steps, not sentences.

1. Greet them and find out whether they're a new or existing patient.
2. Ask what they need — pain, check-up, cosmetic.
3. If it sounds urgent, offer the soonest available slot today or tomorrow.
4. Check availability and book them in.
5. Confirm the date, time and address back to them.

Objection handling

The three or four things callers actually push back on, and your answer. This section is what separates an agent that converts from one that takes messages.

If they say it's expensive: explain that the check-up is £45 and includes X-rays, and that payment plans are available for larger treatments. If they want to think about it: offer to hold a provisional slot for 48 hours.

What NOT to do

Hard limits. Be specific — this is a safety net, so err toward too much.

Never quote a price for implants or orthodontics — those need an assessment. Never promise a specific dentist will be available. Never give medical advice. If they describe severe pain or swelling, tell them to call the surgery directly or go to A&E.

Rules & constraints

Your policies: deposits, cancellation windows, who you can't serve, minimum notice, geographic limits.

We need a £20 deposit for cosmetic consultations. We can't see under-16s at this practice — refer them to our Headingley branch. Cancellations within 24 hours forfeit the deposit.

Closing

How to end. Confirmation is the part people forget, and it's what prevents no-shows.

Recap the appointment date, time and what to bring. Tell them they'll get a text confirmation. Ask if there's anything else before you say goodbye.

Writing for the ear, not the eye

The agent speaks everything you write here. That has consequences:

• No formatting. Bullet symbols, bold markers and headings inside a section body can end up spoken or make the phrasing odd. Plain sentences.
• Short sentences. They're easier to say and easier to interrupt, which makes the conversation feel natural.
• Spell out anything ambiguous aloud. "£45" is fine; "approx. 2-3 wks" is not — write "about two to three weeks".
• Give example phrasings, not mandates. "Something like: we can usually fit you in this week" works better than a fixed sentence.

Facts don't belong here

The most common mistake: putting your entire price list, opening hours and service catalogue into the instructions.

Do that and the agent gets slower, more expensive, and worse — because a long brief dilutes the behavioural guidance you actually care about.

Facts belong in the knowledge base, which the agent searches on demand. Instructions tell it how to behave; knowledge tells it what's true.

Iterating from real calls

The fastest way to improve an agent isn't writing better instructions up front — it's reading transcripts.

1. 1

   Take ten real calls

   Open the call log and read the transcripts of calls that didn't end the way you wanted.

2. 2

   Find the moment it went wrong

   Usually one specific turn: it quoted something it shouldn't, missed a buying signal, or didn't offer to book.

3. 3

   Ask which section owns that moment

   Didn't know a fact → Knowledge. Handled a pushback badly → Objection handling. Said something it shouldn't → What NOT to do. Didn't close → Closing or Goal.

4. 4

   Change one thing and re-test

   Use the chat test to replay the same scenario in seconds. Change one section at a time or you won't know what fixed it.

Using the AI assistant

Inside the editor there's a chat assistant that edits the agent for you. Describe the behaviour you want in plain words:

When someone asks about emergency appointments, be much more urgent and offer the same-day slot straight away.

It proposes a specific change to a specific section, shows you what it'll do, and only applies it when you confirm. It patches sections surgically rather than rewriting the whole brief — so your other work stays intact.

It's genuinely good at "make this section handle X better" and poor at "make my agent better", which is too vague to act on.