Before AI Prompts can do anything, you need to connect an AI provider. Without that, the sparkles button in the composer will show an error.
What a prompt looks like
Each prompt has:- Name — shown in the composer menu (e.g. “Friendly reply”, “Polite decline”).
- Category — groups related prompts in the picker (“Support”, “Sales”, “Escalation”).
- System instruction — the actual prompt text sent to the AI. This is where you describe the tone and constraints.
- Variables (optional) — placeholders like
{{contact.firstname}}that are filled in before the prompt is sent.
Create a prompt
Go to AI & Replies → AI Prompts.
Pick a category
Either choose an existing category or type a new one. Categories make the menu easier to navigate once you have 10+ prompts.
Write the system instruction
Describe the role, tone, length, and any constraints. Include placeholders for dynamic values.
Preview
Click Preview. Xobito sends a sample conversation to your connected AI and shows you what the draft looks like.
Prompt variables
Use these placeholders inside your system instruction. Xobito replaces them with real values before sending to the AI.| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
{{contact.firstname}} | Contact’s first name |
{{contact.lastname}} | Contact’s last name |
{{contact.phone}} | Phone number |
{{contact.email}} | |
{{contact.custom.<field>}} | Any custom field |
{{contact.groups}} | Comma-separated list of groups |
{{conversation.last_message}} | Just the most recent inbound message |
{{conversation.last_10_messages}} | Last 10 messages as a transcript |
{{agent.firstname}} | First name of the agent clicking the prompt |
{{workspace.name}} | Your Xobito workspace name |
Good-prompt patterns
Set the role
Set the role
Start with “You are a …”. Examples:
- “You are a friendly customer support agent for [company].”
- “You are a technical support specialist who explains things in plain English.”
- “You are a sales rep who never oversells.”
Constrain the length
Constrain the length
WhatsApp messages should be short. Say it explicitly:
- “Reply in 2–3 short sentences.”
- “Keep the total reply under 50 words.”
- “Use at most one emoji.”
List what NOT to do
List what NOT to do
The model follows negative instructions well when they’re specific:
- “Do not quote specific prices.”
- “Do not promise delivery times.”
- “Do not ask the customer for passwords or payment details.”
Specify format
Specify format
- “Use plain text. No markdown, no bullet lists.”
- “Start the reply with the customer’s first name.”
- “Sign off with ‘Best, [agent first name]’.”
Using a prompt in Live Chat
- Open a conversation in Chat.
- Click the sparkles icon in the composer.
- Pick a prompt from the menu (grouped by category).
- Wait a second or two — the draft appears in the composer.
- Edit as needed, then hit Send.
Categories — how to organise
Categories are free-text — type any name and it sticks. Useful buckets:Support
“Acknowledge issue”, “Escalate to engineer”, “Request reproduction steps”.
Sales
“Qualify lead”, “Offer demo”, “Quote follow-up”.
Billing
“Invoice query”, “Refund policy”, “Payment failed”.
General
“Friendly greeting”, “Polite decline”, “Thank you”.
Editing, duplicating, deleting
- Edit — changes take effect immediately. In-progress drafts already pasted in a composer are unaffected.
- Duplicate — makes a copy. Great for A/B testing two tones.
- Delete — removes the prompt from every agent’s menu. Past drafts remain in conversations as normal text.
Permissions
By default, staff with thetenant.ai_prompt.create and tenant.ai_prompt.edit permissions can create and edit prompts. Staff with tenant.ai_prompt.view can only use them. Configure this in Roles & Permissions.
Measuring quality
Xobito keeps a count of how often each prompt is used and how often its draft is edited before sending:- Used — agent pasted the draft into the composer.
- Sent as-is — agent hit Send without editing a single character.
- Heavily edited — agent changed more than 50% of the text.
Troubleshooting
The sparkles button shows an error
The sparkles button shows an error
The draft is empty / says 'I cannot help'
The draft is empty / says 'I cannot help'
The model refused — often because the conversation tripped a safety filter, or the system instruction asked for something the model is trained to decline. Reword the prompt.
Variable is appearing as '{{contact.firstname}}' in the draft
Variable is appearing as '{{contact.firstname}}' in the draft
Xobito substitutes before sending, but if your prompt repeats the raw placeholder in an example, the AI may echo it. Wrap examples in different brackets, like
[name], to avoid confusion.What to read next
AI Integration
Connect the provider that powers AI Prompts.
Canned Replies
For static, non-AI quick replies.