Custom instructions
User-defined rules that shape an AI's responses and behavior across conversations.
Custom instructions are specific directions you give to an AI chatbot, like ChatGPT. Think of them as saved notes that tell the AI how you want it to act or what it should know before it starts answering your questions.
For example, you could tell ChatGPT to always respond in a friendly tone, to explain technical terms simply, or to assume you have a certain level of expertise. This helps the AI give you more consistent and personalized answers without you having to repeat yourself in every new chat.
Custom instructions are user-provided text that serve as persistent directives for a large language model (LLM) during inference. These instructions guide the LLM's persona, tone, output format, and knowledge base across multiple conversational turns and sessions. They function as a form of in-context learning or prompt engineering that is stored and applied automatically, reducing the need for repetitive prompt additions.
The primary benefit is personalization and consistency. By setting custom instructions, users can tailor the LLM's behavior to their specific needs or preferences, leading to more relevant and efficient interactions. Tradeoffs can include potential for conflicting instructions or the LLM misinterpreting nuanced directives, requiring careful phrasing.
Recent mentions highlight how companies like OpenAI and Google Gemini are integrating custom instructions into their AI models. This feature allows users to personalize AI interactions by providing persistent directives, shaping responses and behavior across conversations for a more tailored experience.
- Let skills in Gemini tackle your most repetitive tasksGoogle · The Keyword: Gemini ·
- Projects in ChatGPTOpenAI · OpenAI Help Center ·
- ChatGPT Custom InstructionsOpenAI · OpenAI Help Center ·
- Prompting fundamentalsOpenAI · OpenAI News ·
- Personalizing ChatGPTOpenAI · OpenAI News ·
- Awakening Sleeping Beauties at The MetOpenAI · OpenAI News ·
- Google Gemini
- Google Gemini offers 'skills' which function as reusable custom instructions to automate repetitive tasks.
- OpenAI ChatGPT
- OpenAI's ChatGPT allows users to set 'Custom Instructions' to tailor the AI's responses and behavior, and also organizes these instructions within 'Projects'.
- System prompt
- A system prompt is a set of instructions given to an AI model, of
- Fine-tuning
- Fine-tuning involves retraining a pre-trained model on a specific d
- User preferences
- User preferences are typically settings within an application
The concept of user-defined directives to guide AI behavior has evolved from early prompt engineering techniques. OpenAI formalized this for ChatGPT users, allowing persistent, personalized instructions. Source ↗
Go to ChatGPT's settings and find the 'Custom Instructions' section. In the first box, describe yourself or what you want ChatGPT to know about you. In the second box, tell ChatGPT how you want it to respond. For example, you could say: 'I am a beginner learning about AI. Please explain concepts simply and avoid jargon.' Then start a new chat and see how it follows your instructions.
The Playbook: reusable how-tos, prompts, configs and tips pulled out of the news.
- Setting tipConfigure ChatGPT custom instructions for personalized responsesSet up custom instructions in ChatGPT to tailor its responses to your specific needs and preferences. · 5 min
- System promptCreate reusable instructions for Gemini tasks with SkillsSave and reuse custom instructions in Gemini to automate repetitive tasks and skip manual prompting. · 5 min
- Setting tipDelete custom instructions from ChatGPTRemove your custom instructions from ChatGPT via the settings menu. · 1 min
- Troubleshooting fixApply custom instruction updates to all current and future chatsUpdates to custom instructions are applied immediately to all current and future conversations. · 1 min
- Policy noteCustom instructions data used for model improvementUnderstand that your custom instructions data may be used to enhance model performance. · 2 min
Questions people ask
- Do custom instructions affect all my chats?
- Yes, custom instructions are designed to apply to all your new conversations, providing a consistent experience across different chats.
- Can I change my custom instructions?
- Yes, you can edit or disable your custom instructions at any time through the settings menu in your AI application.
- Are custom instructions the same as the initial prompt?
- No, custom instructions are saved and automatically applied to new chats, unlike a one-time prompt you might enter for a single conversation.
First seen on Subvolts Aug 14, 2024. Updated Oct 7, 2026. Written by an AI model from the items above and reviewed against them weekly; report an error.