Custom Instructions are a powerful way to enhance your ChatGPT experience, yet many users are unaware of them. Imagine being able to personalise all your interactions with ChatGPT, tailoring its output according to your background and requirements. Whether you’re using ChatGPT for business, education, creative pursuits, or just personal assistance, this feature provides you with much-improved responses. Want to get rid of all that ‘AI speak’ like ‘leverage’, ‘elevate’, and ‘deep dive’? Custom Instructions can fix that and help write content in your own style.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can tailor ChatGPT’s answers by setting up Custom Instructions effectively. I’ll guide you through how to use each section to help ChatGPT understand you better and meet your needs more precisely. These instructions offer an incredible level of flexibility, allowing you to shape the AI to work best for you, making it an indispensable tool for anyone who wants to get more out of their AI experience. Additionally, each section of Custom Instructions is limited to 1500 characters, which encourages you to provide concise and clear information without being overwhelming.
First Panel: “What Would You Like ChatGPT to Know About You?”
The first panel of Custom Instructions is all about giving ChatGPT context about you. Each section in this panel allows up to 1500 characters, giving you enough space to provide detailed information. Think of this as your introduction to a very attentive assistant. Here, you provide details to help the AI understand you better so it can adapt its responses to your specific requirements. This initial setup is essential because the more information you share, the better ChatGPT can serve your unique needs. Remember, Custom Instructions can be updated anytime, allowing you to tweak them as your preferences evolve. This means you’re not locked into one configuration and can continuously improve the AI’s understanding of you.
Key Aspects to Include:
- Personal Information: Consider what aspects of yourself you want ChatGPT to know. This can include your job title, hobbies, passions, and your short-term and long-term goals. By offering some insight into your day-to-day life, you enable ChatGPT to provide more personalised and contextually relevant responses. For example: “I am the Managing Director of XYZ Ltd, and I have a background in public relations and crisis management. I love spending time playing darts, exploring new tech, and reading science fiction novels.” Providing these details makes your interactions more personal.
- Background: Your educational background and past work experience can help ChatGPT respond in a way that’s relevant to your level of expertise. If you’re in a technical field, ChatGPT can match its responses to the depth of knowledge you expect. For instance, if you work in software engineering, ChatGPT will adjust its language to align more with the industry’s jargon or provide simpler explanations if you’re still learning. This adaptability ensures that responses are neither too basic nor overly complex, but just right for your level of understanding.
- Goals and Values: Are you working on a particular project, or are there specific outcomes you are striving towards? Sharing both short-term and long-term goals will help ChatGPT keep your aims in mind when crafting responses. You might say, “I’m working on improving our clients’ media relations.” It’s helpful to outline these goals clearly so that ChatGPT can consistently align its responses with what you’re trying to achieve.
- Tasks: Mentioning what you’ll use ChatGPT for helps narrow its focus. Are you planning to use it for content creation, brainstorming, learning new skills, or improving work processes? It’s also helpful to experiment with different versions of Custom Instructions to see how they affect response quality. Minor adjustments might significantly improve the relevance of the AI’s responses. Letting ChatGPT know your specific tasks helps streamline the types of responses you receive. For instance, if you’re using ChatGPT primarily for brainstorming, you can expect more creative and diverse suggestions, whereas using it for planning might yield more structured and detailed responses. The more precise you can be, the better the assistance ChatGPT can provide.
- Preferences and Sensitivities: You can share your learning style (eg visual, auditory, kinesthetic), any topics you’d prefer to avoid, or triggers that cause discomfort. This ensures that your interactions are not only effective but also comfortable and supportive. For instance, if you prefer visual aids, ChatGPT might be more inclined to describe things in a way that paints a mental picture. Additionally, sharing topics to avoid helps maintain a positive experience, making ChatGPT a space where you can feel understood and respected. When adding personal information, always consider privacy implications and avoid sharing overly sensitive details. This will ensure a secure and comfortable interaction.
Example:
“I am the Managing Director of XYZ Ltd, and my work involves overseeing media relations and content creation for a variety of clients. I have a background in public relations and a degree in communications, with over 15 years of experience in the PR industry. My interests include playing darts, exploring new technology, and reading science fiction novels. I prefer visual learning styles and am looking to use ChatGPT primarily for planning content, brainstorming ideas, and improving client engagement. Please avoid discussing political topics.”
Second Panel: “How Would You Like ChatGPT to Respond?”
The second panel allows you to define how ChatGPT should reply to you, creating the perfect interaction style that matches your preferences. Like the first panel, this section has a character limit of 1500, so you can fully express your preferences without overwhelming details. This is where you decide on tone, style, and the format of ChatGPT’s responses.
Things to Consider:
- Tone and Style: Formal or informal, humorous or serious. Specify what suits you or the context you’re in. For example, if you want ChatGPT to provide content for corporate audiences, you might prefer a more formal tone. You can also instruct it to be more casual when engaging in a brainstorming session, making interactions feel more relaxed and conducive to idea generation. Customising the tone helps maintain consistency across the tasks you’re handling, be it content creation or internal team communications.
- Target Audience: Defining your target audience helps ChatGPT craft messages that resonate with the intended recipients. Are you creating content for professionals, students, or a general audience? The more detail you provide, the better ChatGPT can adjust its phrasing, level of formality, and subject depth. For instance, creating content for a group of executives requires a completely different approach compared to content meant for young students. This level of personalisation makes your content more effective and impactful.
- Response Length and Formatting: Do you prefer short, concise responses or detailed, comprehensive answers? Should the information be presented in bullet points, numbered lists, or full paragraphs? This helps ChatGPT communicate more effectively in a style that makes it easier for you to understand and use. For instance, a detailed response may be helpful when you’re planning a project and need all the information, whereas concise bullet points work better for quick decision-making tasks. This flexibility ensures that the format always matches your workflow.
- Content Guidelines: Here you can specify what kind of language ChatGPT should use or avoid. For instance, avoid jargon if your audience is unfamiliar with your industry. You can also highlight any specific words or phrases you dislike or that AI tools tend to use (eg “deep dive”). Establishing these guidelines ensures that responses are always in line with your audience’s expectations and understanding.
- Presentation Style and Learning Preferences: Should responses include storytelling, or should they be direct? Do you prefer ChatGPT to ask questions that help refine its responses over time? These details ensure that ChatGPT grows to be a more effective assistant. For example, if storytelling helps you remember concepts better, ChatGPT can incorporate narratives into explanations, making it a more effective learning tool. Alternatively, if you prefer straight-to-the-point answers, you can instruct it to be direct and factual.
Example:
“Please respond in a formal and informative tone, using clear, concise language suitable for senior executives at large UK companies. Use bullet points to present information when possible and ensure sources and citations are included where relevant. Address me as Mr Big. Opinions are welcome, but keep them balanced. Use UK English, and feel free to ask clarifying questions to improve your responses over time.”
Using Custom Instructions Effectively
Providing these details can significantly impact the quality of the responses you receive from ChatGPT, so it’s worth taking a little time to get it right. Custom Instructions allow you to create a more tailored and efficient experience, saving you time and enhancing the value you get from AI. Whether you’re drafting emails, planning campaigns, or brainstorming new ideas, these settings can make the experience more personalised.
By adding such personal touches, you enable ChatGPT to become more than just a chatbot—it becomes a genuine extension of your own work process, adapting continuously to suit your evolving needs. Custom Instructions are not static; they can and should evolve over time as your needs change. Revisiting and adjusting these panels as necessary can help maintain the effectiveness of ChatGPT in supporting you.
Keep in mind that ChatGPT also has a Memory feature that you can enable or disable. This feature works in tandem with Custom Instructions. You can ask ChatGPT to remember your details across sessions, allowing for continuity in your interactions by stating ‘please note…’ or ‘please remember…’. Imagine having an assistant that not only understands your needs but also communicates in a way that resonates perfectly with you. The more specific you are, the more the AI can tailor its responses to what you need. Custom Instructions and the Memory feature significantly improve response quality. They ensure responses are not just accurate but also contextually relevant and tailored to your unique style.
Your Turn
What details do you think would be most helpful to share with ChatGPT to personalise your experience? Try filling out both panels with your own information and see the difference it makes in your interactions. The beauty of Custom Instructions lies in their adaptability – whatever your needs are, ChatGPT is ready to align with them, becoming not just a tool, but a personalised assistant that can support you in your work.
For more help with ChatGPT and AI, get in touch to arrange a bespoke training session or book an AI course.