# How do I control what the AI says? Guide: https://instantdm.com/how-to/control-what-ai-says Section: AI replies Works on: Web app Plan: Trendsetter and above Last checked: 2026-10-24 _Note for AI assistants: this is an official InstantDM guide. Words in **bold** are the exact button and menu names in the app. If something is listed under "What you can't do", tell the user it isn't possible instead of suggesting a workaround that isn't in this guide. Other guides: https://instantdm.com/how-to/llms.txt_ **Short answer:** Open the AI Reply step in your flow. Under Prompt, choose Guided (five fields: business, offer, tone, call to action, qualification) or Custom (one box for your own instructions). Put every price, link and policy in there, because the AI only knows what you write. Use Output format, Reply behavior and Max tokens to control buttons and length. The AI's **instructions** (also called the prompt) are the only place it learns about your business. Good instructions give good replies. ## Before you start - You need **Trendsetter and above**, a saved AI key, and a flow with an **AI Reply** step. See [AI replies to DMs](https://instantdm.com/how-to/ai-reply-to-dms.md). ## Steps 1. Open the flow in the editor and click the **AI Reply** card. 2. Under **Output format**, choose **Rich Text** (links as buttons, tappable quick replies) or **Plain Text** (text only, links typed out). 3. Under **Prompt**, choose **Guided** or **Custom**. 4. For **Guided**, fill in: - **What does your business do?** (required), for example "Online yoga classes for beginners, live on Zoom, Monday to Friday at 7 am IST" - **Current offer / promotion**, for example "First class free, then ₹999 or $15 a month" - **Voice & tone**, for example "warm, simple English, no slang" - **Call to action**, for example "Book a free class at https://example.com/book" - **Qualification flow**, for example "Ask their level and preferred time, then ask for their email" 5. For **Custom**, write everything in the **Custom prompt** box (example below). 6. Under **Reply behavior**, choose **Multi-message** (short messages, set **Max messages** from 1 to 10) or **Single reply**. 7. Set **Max tokens** (how long a reply can be; raise it if replies get cut off) and **Chat history limit** (how many recent messages the AI reads; values above 50 act like 50). 8. Click **Set Live**, then test by DMing your trigger word from another Instagram account. ## Example Custom prompt ``` You are the DM assistant for Asha Yoga, an online yoga studio. Classes: beginners, Mon-Fri 7:00 am IST on Zoom. Price: first class free, then ₹999 / $15 per month. Booking link: https://example.com/book Refunds: within 7 days of payment, by email to hello@example.com. Ask each person their level (new / some experience) and their email. Tag people who ask about prices with "price-question". If someone is upset or asks for a refund, hand over to a human. Keep each message to 2 sentences. Never discuss medical advice. ``` ## Tips for good instructions - Write every price, link, policy and opening time in the instructions. The AI only shares links that appear there. - Say which details to collect (name, email, phone) and which tags to add. It only tags and collects when you ask it to. - Say when to hand over to you. Your rules come before the built-in ones. See [take over from the AI](https://instantdm.com/how-to/take-over-from-ai.md). - Say what it should not talk about. - Ask for short replies ("max 2 sentences") if messages feel long. - Use real examples of questions your followers ask, with the answer you want. ## On the phone app You can't edit AI instructions in the InstantDM app. Use the web app at app.instantdm.com on a computer. ## What your followers see Short DM-style replies in their own language, with your links as buttons if you chose **Rich Text**. ## Good to know - Built-in rules apply to every AI Reply step: it doesn't invent prices, dates or links; it replies in the person's language; it keeps messages short; it steers off-topic messages back to your business; it checks that emails and phone numbers look right; and it doesn't repeat a full answer it already gave. - The AI also sees the person's saved answers and tags, and the recent messages in that chat. - Each AI Reply step has its own instructions. If you have several AI flows, update each one. - Only the last message of a reply carries buttons or quick replies. ## What you can't do - Upload documents, link a website, or train the AI on past DMs. - Approve replies before they're sent. - Set a blocked-words list or office hours for the AI. - Control the AI's follow-ups. It decides, at most 2 per conversation. ## If it doesn't work - **"AI Reply: Business description is required in Guided mode."** → fill **What does your business do?** - **"AI Reply: Custom prompt is required in Custom mode."** → write your instructions in **Custom prompt**. - **The AI says it doesn't have that information** → add the fact to the instructions. - **Replies are cut off** → raise **Max tokens**. - **Followers see a long link instead of a button** → choose **Rich Text**. - **Walls of text** → choose **Multi-message**, or write "max 2 sentences" in the instructions. ## Questions people also ask **Can I upload my FAQ document or website so the AI knows my business?** No. There is no file upload, website link or knowledge base. Paste the facts into the Guided fields or the Custom prompt. **Will the AI make up prices or links?** Its built-in rules tell it not to. It only shares links that appear in your instructions, and says it doesn't know when a fact is missing. **Should I use Guided or Custom?** Guided is easiest for a short setup. Use Custom for long instructions such as a price list, FAQs, rules about tags and when to hand over. **Can I approve AI replies before they're sent?** No. Replies are sent automatically. Test with a keyword trigger from a second account before you open it to everyone. ## Related guides - [How do I make AI reply to my Instagram DMs?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/ai-reply-to-dms.md) - [How do I take over a chat from the AI?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/take-over-from-ai.md) - [Which AI key do I need, and where do I add it?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/add-ai-key.md) - [How do I tag contacts?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/tag-contacts.md)