Guidelines

What are Guidelines?

Guidelines define condition-response pairs for handling edge cases:

Condition — When this situation occurs…
Response — …the assistant should respond this way

Guidelines are best suited for behavioral guidance (how to handle a situation), not factual information (what to say). Put specific data like pricing, hours, or product details in the Knowledge Base. Guidelines are a fallback for information not available in the Knowledge Base. For specific facts, data, or detailed information the assistant should know, use the Knowledge Base instead.

How Guidelines Work

Guidelines can be input from the script builder under the “Guidelines” section. When generating a response, the AI considers all active guidelines and applies relevant ones based on the conversation context. Guidelines directly influence the assistant’s behaviour, shaping tone, personality, and how it handles specific situations. However, some behaviours have inherent limitations — see Assistant Behaviour for details.

Writing Guidelines

Each guideline has two parts:

Field	Purpose	Example
Condition	Describes when the guideline applies	”User asks about pricing”
Response	Describes how the assistant should respond	”Direct them to the website”

Examples

Handling Pricing Questions:

Condition: User asks about pricing or costs
Response: Explain that pricing varies by needs and offer to have a specialist follow up with detailed pricing information

Technical Questions:

Condition: User asks highly technical questions beyond scope of knowledge
Response: Note their question and offer to have a technical specialist contact them with detailed information

Emotional Situations:

Condition: User expresses frustration or anger
Response: Acknowledge their feelings, apologize for any inconvenience, and focus on finding a resolution

Best Practices

Guidelines shape assistant behaviour including tone and response style, but some behaviours have limitations. Keep these tips in mind:

Be specific with conditions — Vague conditions may trigger unexpectedly or be missed entirely
Keep responses actionable — Tell the assistant what to do, not just what to avoid
Don’t duplicate flow logic — Use guidelines for cross-cutting concerns, not primary conversation paths
Test edge cases — Verify guidelines work as expected in real conversations
Prioritize safety — Include guidelines for handling sensitive topics appropriately

Common Use Cases

Use Case	Example Condition	Example Response
Scope boundaries	User asks about unrelated services	Politely explain our focus and offer relevant alternatives
Compliance	User requests medical/legal/financial advice	Clarify we cannot provide professional advice and recommend consulting a specialist
Escalation	User requests to speak with a human	Acknowledge the request and initiate warm handoff
Data privacy	User asks what data we collect	Explain our privacy practices and offer to send our privacy policy

Next Steps

Call Objectives — Define what your assistant should accomplish
Knowledge Base — Give your assistant reference information to draw from
Assistant Behaviour — Understand how guidelines shape the assistant’s tone and responses

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What are Guidelines?

How Guidelines Work

Writing Guidelines

Examples

Best Practices

Common Use Cases

Next Steps

​What are Guidelines?

​How Guidelines Work

​Writing Guidelines

​Examples

​Best Practices

​Common Use Cases

​Next Steps

What are Guidelines?

How Guidelines Work

Writing Guidelines

Examples

Best Practices

Common Use Cases

Next Steps