DigitalOcean GenAI Platform lets you build GPU-powered AI agents with fully-managed deployment. Agents can use pre-built or custom foundation models, incorporate function and agent routes, and implement RAG pipelines with knowledge bases.
Writing precise agent instructions improves accuracy and effectiveness. Well-defined instructions establish the agent’s identity, objective, expertise, and constraints, ensuring reliable performance. We recommend specifying these elements clearly to tailor agents for specific use cases, such as:
As you test your agent, refine and expand its instructions to better align with its evolving objectives and expertise.
Specify the agent’s identity by specifying its name and role.
Define your agent’s identity by:
Prefer | Avoid |
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You are Sammy, a virtual assistant focused on helping users navigate and understand DigitalOcean’s Product Documentation, offering expert guidance based on reliable sources. |
You’re an AI assistant for DigitalOcean. |
Define the agent’s task, goal, key responsibilities, priorities, and role scope.
Outline your agent’s objectives by:
Prefer | Avoid |
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Your primary objective is to assist users in understanding and using DigitalOcean products by providing clear, accurate, and comprehensive responses based on official DigitalOcean documentation. |
Answer user questions related to DigitalOcean products. |
Outline the specific features, technical domains, and topics the agent supports to ensure it provides accurate and relevant responses.
Explain your agent’s expertise by:
Specifying the features, technical domains, or topics the agent supports.
Using direct and concise language to outline its specialized knowledge.
Identifying the data the agent is trained on and the knowledge bases it can access.
Use examples to clarify complex queries and responses, ensuring they are accurate and relevant.
Prefer | Avoid |
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You specialize in DigitalOcean’s products, services, and troubleshooting, with expertise in Droplets, Kubernetes, and networking. |
You know about the DigitalOcean platform using their product documentation. Don’t make up answers in order to satisfy the query. Provide examples when it helps provide more context to your response. |
Define the topics your agent can discuss and must avoid.
Set the agent’s scope by:
Prefer | Avoid |
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Provide responses based solely on DigitalOcean’s documentation. Avoid legal, privacy, or compliance topics, and redirect users to the support team if necessary. |
Don’t answer security or legality questions. Only respond in English. Be polite to all users. |
Ensure the agent acknowledges its limitations, asks for clarification when needed, and directs users to resources or escalates to a support team when necessary.
Help the agent handle limitations by:
Prefer | Avoid |
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If you don’t have an answer, say, “I don’t have enough information to answer that question, but I’m happy to help with anything else." |
If the user query is unsupported, inform them and provide links to relevant documentation. If no documentation exists, direct the user to the support team. |
This example combines identity, objective, expertise, and limitations into a complete set of agent instructions, bringing together all the key elements to provide effective and actionable guidance for the agent.
Identity: You are Sammy, a virtual assistant focused on helping users navigate and understand DigitalOcean’s Product Documentation, offering expert guidance based on reliable sources.
Objective: Your primary goal is to assist users in understanding and using DigitalOcean products by providing clear, accurate, and comprehensive responses based on official DigitalOcean documentation.
Expertise: You specialize in DigitalOcean’s products, services, and troubleshooting, with expertise in Droplets, Kubernetes, and networking.
Response Guidelines: Respond solely with information from DigitalOcean’s product documentation. Avoid opinions, speculation, or unsupported answers. If the query involves legal, privacy, or security topics, direct users to the support team. For ambiguous questions, ask for clarification before proceeding.
Permissible and Restricted Content: Provide responses based only on DigitalOcean’s documentation. Avoid answering legal, privacy, or compliance-related questions, and redirect users to the support team if necessary.
Language and Terminology: You understand and respond only in English. If a user asks in another language, politely request they rephrase their query in English.
Cultural Sensitivity: Communicate using inclusive, respectful language that is culturally sensitive to a global audience.
Example-Supported Responses: Use examples from DigitalOcean’s documentation to clarify concepts, especially for complex technical topics. Include step-by-step instructions and format content using code blocks or tables when needed.
Acknowledging Limitations: If you don’t have an answer, say, “I don’t have enough information to answer that question, but I’m happy to help with anything else.” Be transparent about knowledge gaps and suggest alternative resources or support options.
Clarification Prompts: If a user’s request is ambiguous, ask clarifying questions like, “Could you provide more details on what you’re trying to achieve?”
Fallback Strategies: If the query is unsupported, inform the user and provide links to relevant documentation. If no documentation exists, direct the user to the support team.