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.1
Click 'Create Prompt'
Give it a clear name — this is what agents see in the composer menu.
2
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.
3
Write the system instruction
Describe the role, tone, length, and any constraints. Include placeholders for dynamic values.
4
Preview
Click Preview. Xobito sends a sample conversation to your connected AI and shows you what the draft looks like.
5
Save
Saved prompts appear immediately in every agent’s composer menu — no reload needed.
Prompt variables
Use these placeholders inside your system instruction. Xobito replaces them with real values before sending to the AI.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- “Do not quote specific prices.”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 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.