Chat and email are different experiences. A visitor in a chat widget expects short, fast replies. An email lead is more comfortable with longer, structured responses. Your AI sales agent can handle both from a single set of instructions; you just need to tell it how to behave when the channel is chat.
You do this through two fields in your agent settings: Tone & Style and Response Guidelines. Both fields support plain-language, channel-specific instructions. The agent reads them and applies the appropriate behavior depending on whether it's responding to a chat or an email conversation.
In this article:
Write channel-specific tone and style instructions
Write channel-specific response guidelines
Review example instructions you can adapt
Before you begin
You need admin access in the Flex Admin Portal.
Go to AI Hub > Settings to find the Tone & Style and Response Guidelines fields.
Write channel-specific tone and style instructions
The Tone & Style field is where you control how the agent writes. To apply rules specifically to chat, start the instruction with "When the channel is chat." The agent will only apply that instruction in chat conversations.
Useful things to define here for chat:
Maximum reply length (for example, one to three short sentences).
Whether the agent can ask multiple questions in a single message.
How the agent should communicate hand-offs to the visitor.
Write channel-specific response guidelines
The Response Guidelines field is where you define how the agent qualifies leads and structures its responses. Adding chat-specific instructions is optional but recommended. Chat visitors typically expect shorter, faster replies than email leads.
Useful things to define here for chat:
A strict qualification order for new chat prospects.
Shorter summary formats specific to chat.
Which CTAs to show based on the visitor's answers.
Example instructions you can adapt
Copy these examples, adjust the details for your space, and paste them into the relevant field in AI Hub > Training > Guidance.
Tone & Style examples
"When the channel is chat, keep every reply to one to three short sentences. Never write longer in chat."
"When the channel is chat, ask at most one question per reply. Never stack two or more questions into the same chat message."
"When handing off a conversation in the chat channel, explicitly tell the visitor that the team will follow up by email."
Response Guidelines examples
"When the channel is chat, keep summaries to two to four words maximum."
"When the channel is chat and the visitor is a new prospect, follow this qualification order strictly: (1) ask which location they're interested in and give examples; (2) ask whether they need a workspace or a meeting room; (3) ask how many people the workspace is for; (4) ask which product they need and offer relevant options based on team size; (5) send the relevant CTA for the product type."
FAQs
Do I need a separate agent for chat and email?
No. One agent handles both channels. You write a single set of instructions and use "When the channel is chat" to apply specific rules only to chat conversations.
What if I don't write any chat-specific instructions?
The agent uses your general Tone & Style and Response Guidelines for all channels. Adding chat-specific instructions is optional but recommended. Chat visitors typically expect shorter, faster replies than email leads.
Can I test my chat instructions before going live?
Yes. Use the built-in chat preview to test your agent's behavior. Go to AI Hub > Settings, click Test AI Agent, select Chat, then click Open Chat Preview. Learn more about testing →