Custom instructions help shape how your agent communicates with students — but where you place those instructions matters. In the upgraded platform, custom instructions are organized across three distinct locations depending on what they do. Placing instructions in the right location ensures your agent behaves consistently, reduces duplication, and makes future updates easier to manage.

Instructions that define how your agent should behave across all interactions belong in the persona settings. Because these instructions apply universally, adding them here means you won't need to copy them into every individual workflow.

Where to find it: Settings > Persona > Personality > Additional instructions

What belongs here: Tone, voice, and general behavioral guidelines that should apply regardless of the context or channel.

Example:
​"Always talk in a warm, encouraging tone."

Instructions that are really facts or information about your institution should be uploaded to the knowledge base as their own assets — not written as freeform instructions. The agent will draw on this content when responding to relevant student questions.

What belongs here: Specific details about programs, policies, athletics, campus life, deadlines, majors, and other institution-specific information.

Example:
​"X College does not have NCAA athletics. Highlight club sports (soccer and hockey) and intramural sports (volleyball and basketball). Let students know they are also welcome to start their own clubs."

Uploading this type of content to the knowledge base (rather than pasting it into instructions fields) keeps your information organized and easier to maintain over time.

Some instructions are specific to a particular outbound workflow and don't need to apply everywhere. Those belong directly in the instructions field for that workflow.

What belongs here: Behavioral guidelines that are unique to a specific Mission or outbound communication — for example, how the agent should handle a particular topic or question within that workflow's context.

Example:
​"When a student asks a question about portfolios that cannot be answered from the knowledge base, do not attempt to answer or provide feedback. Direct the student to their admissions counselor and to the portfolio submissions page at [your URL]. Do not offer any opinion or advice about portfolio content or quality."

Note: Behavioral instructions of this kind are most relevant to the inbound helpdesk, where the agent is responding to student questions. Outbound workflows (such as Missions) are primarily for proactive communication, so workflow-level instructions should be reserved for details genuinely specific to that workflow.

In CollegeVine's platform, agents are modular — which means instructions need to be in the right location to work as intended. Placing tone or behavioral guidance at the persona level ensures those instructions are automatically present in every workflow, so you don't have to re-enter them each time you create a Mission or configure a channel.