Define Agent-Level Instructions and System Messages
Agent-level instructions provide your agent with guidance on how to interact in all situations, including any rules it should follow. System messages, such as welcome and error messages, are sent when your users begin chatting with an agent and if they encounter system errors.
Required Editions
| Available in: Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions. Required add-on licenses vary by agent type. |
| User Permissions Needed | |
|---|---|
| To define system messages and language settings: | Manage AI Agents AND the required permissions for your agent type |
- Bypass the Welcome Message When Handing Off Ongoing Conversations to an Agentforce Service Agent
Configure an Agentforce Service agent to seamlessly pick up an ongoing conversation where it left off instead of sending the system welcome message. - Manage Conversation Recommendations in the Legacy Builder
You can manage two types of recommendations for an Agentforce Employee agent: welcome recommendations and in-conversation recommendations. Welcome recommendations appear in the Agentforce panel when it opens from most supported record pages, list views, and Lightning app Home pages. In-conversation recommendations appear during an active conversation in response to user messages.
Define Agent-Level Instructions and System Messages
- From the Agents list in the Agentforce Studio app, open the agent you want to update system messages for.
- If there are multiple versions of your agent, from the header in Agentforce Builder, select the agent version you want to edit.
- In the Explorer panel, open Settings and click System.
- Update the Agent-Level Instructions, Welcome Message and Error Message as needed.
- Save your agent.
Considerations for using Agent-Level Instructions
- Variables are not supported in Agent-Level Instructions.
Considerations for using System Messages
- When you customize your agent’s welcome message, introduce your agent as a bot or AI
assistant so your users know they aren’t chatting with a human. If your agent introduces
itself by a human-sounding name, consider pairing it with a title that emphasizes the
job, task, or service the agent provides. For example, “Hi, I’m Robbie, an automated
returns agent.”
Important (Legacy Builder Only) Making sure your users know that they are chatting with an agent is especially important in voice conversations where the agents can sound like a human. We recommend introducing your agent as an AI assistant for your voice-enabled agent. - You can use your welcome message to ensure your users understand and consent to how their data is stored and used. For example, “By continuing, you agree to our use of your data as outlined in our privacy policy.”
- When an ongoing conversation is routed to an Agentforce Service agent, the agent sends the system welcome message and then responds to the customer’s previous message. You can configure the agent to bypass the welcome message and pick up the conversation where it left off.
Define System Messages in the Legacy Builder
Create system messages, such as welcome and error messages that are sent when your users begin using an agent and if they encounter system errors. Only the default Agentforce agent and Agentforce Service Agent have system messages.
Required Editions
| Available in: Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions. Required add-on licenses vary by agent type. |
| User Permissions Needed | |
|---|---|
| To define system messages: | Manage AI Agents AND the required permissions for your agent type |
Your agent’s welcome message is an opportunity to establish customer transparency and trust.
- When you customize your agent’s welcome message, introduce your agent as a bot or AI
assistant so your users know they aren’t chatting with a human. If your agent introduces
itself by a human-sounding name, consider pairing it with a title that emphasizes the
job, task, or service the agent provides. For example, “Hi, I’m Robbie, an automated
returns agent.”Important Making sure your users know that they are chatting with an agent is especially important in voice conversations where the agents can sound like a human. We recommend introducing your agent as an AI assistant for your voice-enabled agent.
- You can use your welcome message to ensure your users understand and consent to how their data is stored and used. For example, “By continuing, you agree to our use of your data as outlined in our privacy policy.”
- From Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter Agent, and then select Agentforce Agents.
- Click the name of your agent.
- Click the System Messages tab. There’s an 800 character limit on welcome messages.
- Enter the text you want the system to show to users. We provide default messages, but use whatever works best for your company.
- Save your changes.
When an ongoing conversation is routed to an Agentforce Service agent, the agent sends the system welcome message and then responds to the customer’s previous message. You can configure the agent to bypass the welcome message and pick up the conversation where it left off.
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