The Assistant Instructions box on the Assistant page is a plain-language brief for your receptionist. It's the single biggest lever you have over how your assistant sounds and behaves - but it works best when you know what it's for, because several things are already handled automatically and don't belong in it.
What's already added for you
Every call, your assistant is automatically given:
- Your business name, industry, description, and website, from Settings → Business profile.
- Your list of active services, from Services & Resources.
- The current date.
- The caller's phone number, if it's already known, so the assistant won't ask for it again.
- A fixed set of baseline manners: speak naturally and briefly (this is a phone call, not a chat window), match the caller's language, ask one question at a time, never invent information, prices, availability, or promises, and always leave the caller with a clear next step before the call ends.
You never need to write any of this yourself. Repeating it in your instructions doesn't help - it just uses up space you could spend on what makes your business different.
What belongs in your instructions
Think of this box as what you'd tell a new front-desk hire on their first day, after they already know the basics. Good instructions usually cover:
| Include this | Example |
|---|---|
| Tone | "Friendly and relaxed, not overly formal." / "Calm and precise - our clients are often stressed when they call." |
| What to prioritize first | "Always ask what the problem is and whether it's urgent before anything else." |
| Business-specific rules | "Never quote an exact price over the phone - always say a technician needs to see the job first." |
| How to handle edge cases | "If someone asks about a service we don't offer, let them know politely and don't try to improvise a solution." |
| When to hand off instead of resolving | "If a customer wants a custom quote for more than 3 rooms, don't try to book it - create an enquiry instead." |
| Things it must never promise | "Never confirm a same-day appointment - always say we'll try our best and confirm shortly after." |
What to leave out
- Your business facts (address, services, hours, description) - these live in Settings and Services, not in the instructions box. Putting them here just risks having two different sources of truth that can drift out of sync.
- Generic manners ("be polite," "speak clearly," "don't hang up on people") - already covered by the baseline behavior above.
- Anything that sounds like a script to read verbatim - instructions work best as guidance the assistant reasons with, not a word-for-word transcript. If you want an exact opening line, use the separate Opening greeting field instead - that one is delivered word for word.
- Passwords, payment details, or anything sensitive - never needed here, and callers should never be asked for this kind of information over the phone.
A short real example
Speak in a calm, professional tone - this is a dental clinic and many callers are anxious. Always ask if it's an emergency (severe pain, swelling, or an accident) before anything else, and if so, offer the soonest available slot regardless of appointment type. For routine check-ups, confirm which dentist the patient prefers, if any. Never estimate a price for treatment over the phone - always say the dentist needs to assess it first. If a caller asks about insurance coverage we can't verify by phone, create an enquiry with their question so the front desk can call them back.
Notice what's not in there: the clinic's name, address, opening hours, or list of treatments. Those already come from your business profile and services automatically.
Keeping instructions healthy over time
There's no length limit, but shorter, specific instructions perform more reliably than long, generic ones. If you notice your assistant handling a particular situation the wrong way on real calls, that's usually a sign to add one clear rule for that exact situation - not to rewrite the whole thing. Review real conversation transcripts in Conversations occasionally to see how instructions are actually playing out on live calls.