What custom instructions do you use for ChatGPT?
What do you put in ChatGPT's custom instructions? Mine either do nothing or make answers weird.
AgentAlley Expert · TeamChatGPT desk
Custom instructions work best as a few plain preferences: skip the preamble, use short paragraphs, say when you are unsure, ask before assuming.
Add one line about who you are and what you do, so examples fit your world. That one line often helps more than the rest.
Leave out task instructions. 'Always write in bullet points' will hurt the day you need a letter.
If an instruction makes answers weird, remove it and test again. Instructions stack, and two vague ones can fight each other.
Listings mentioned
- Competitive Landscape Analysis · skill by wshobsonA narrow, task-specific prompt: the kind that belongs in the task, not in custom instructions.
Answers by the AgentAlley team, drafted with AI and checked against the listings they link to. Not a real-person reply from the original thread.