Set how it replies: who it is, tone and rules

For agents

Guide: Set how it replies: who it is, tone and rules

This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/ai-agents/write-the-persona

Topic: AI agents

Time: about 3 minutes

Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager

Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)

Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/agents

Result when done: The agent sounds like your business rather than like a machine.

Context: How it replies is the voice of the agent, kept apart from what it knows. It has three parts: Who it is, one or two sentences about who is speaking; Tone, one of five registers; and Rules, short lines about how it answers. Facts never go here. They go in Knowledge, and the Preview beside the form lets you hear every change before a customer does.

Before you start

1. How it replies is voice; Knowledge is facts. A price written as a rule is a mistake waiting to happen.

2. Who it is is optional. Left empty, the agent speaks as someone on your team, saying "we".

3. It always replies in the customer's language, whatever language you write the rules in.

Steps

Step 1 of 5: Open the agent and scroll to How it replies.

Where: Settings, AI agents, then the agent's row. How it replies is the card under Knowledge, on the Set up tab.

Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/agents (Open AI agents)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone.en.webp (How it replies: Who it is, Tone and Rules.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: Who it is, Tone and Rules, with the Preview still in view on the right.

Step 2 of 5: Say who is speaking.

Where: Who it is. One or two sentences: You are Maya from the Northwind Coffee team, a barista who knows the menu by heart. Leave it empty and it speaks as someone on your team, saying "we".

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone.en.webp (Who it is: one or two sentences about who is speaking.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: Replies written from that person's point of view.

Step 3 of 5: Pick the tone.

Where: Tone, under Who it is: Helpful, Conversational, Professional, Casual or Funny. On a computer, hovering over one shows how it would answer the same question.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone.en.webp (Tone: five registers, one chosen.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: The chosen tone highlighted. Ask the Preview something to hear it.

Step 4 of 5: Add the rules.

Where: Rules, one per line: Keep replies to one or two sentences. Never promise a delivery date. The chips under the box add the common ones in one press: Short replies, Speak as "I", No delivery promises, Use their first name, No emoji, Point to the link in bio. Press a chip again to take its rule out.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone.en.webp (Rules: your own lines, and chips for the common ones.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-tone-rules-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: Each chip you pressed turns green with a tick, and its sentence appears in the box.

Step 5 of 5: Hear it in the Preview, then save.

Where: Ask the Preview the question you get most. It answers with what is on screen, saved or not, so you can change a rule and ask again. When it sounds right, press Save changes. It takes the place of Use this agent at the top right once you have changed something; on a phone it is in the bar at the bottom. Under an answer, Correct this takes a sentence from you, such as shorter, no emoji, and saves it as a rule.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-try.en.webp (The Preview: the answer in the agent's voice, with Correct this under it.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/agent-try-phone.en.webp (The Preview on a phone, opened with Try it.)

You should see: An answer in the voice you set, and Saved beside the button.

If something is off

Problem: The replies are too long

Fix: Press the Short replies chip, which adds: Keep replies to one or two sentences.

Problem: It says "we" and I work alone

Fix: Press Speak as "I", or say who you are under Who it is.

Problem: It invents facts

Fix: That is knowledge, not voice. Put the fact in Knowledge; a fact it does not hold goes to you instead of being guessed.

Problem: Every reply starts with the customer's name

Fix: That is Mention the commenter, on the automation that places the agent, under Advanced settings; or the Use their first name rule here. Switch off the one you do not want.

Common questions

Question: What is the difference between how an agent replies and what it knows?

Answer: How it replies is voice: who is speaking, the tone and the rules. Knowledge is facts: prices, policies, products. Keep them apart; the form says so itself, Facts go in Knowledge.

Question: Which tones can an AI agent use?

Answer: Helpful, Conversational, Professional, Casual or Funny. Tone is the broad register; Who it is and Rules carry the detail.

Question: Does the agent keep its voice when a comment arrives in another language?

Answer: Yes. It always replies in the customer's language, in the tone and under the rules you set.

Question: If an answer sounds wrong, should I fix the answer or the agent?

Answer: The agent. In the Preview, Correct this under an answer takes what was wrong in your words and saves it where it belongs, a rule or a question and answer, then asks again so you see it land. It uses 1 AI credit.

Related guides

Give the agent knowledge: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/ai-agents/give-the-agent-knowledge

Tone, delay, mention and archive: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/ai-agents/tone-delay-mention-and-archive

Generate a reply in the composer: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/ai-agents/generate-a-reply-in-the-composer

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/ai-agents/write-the-persona.md

All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt