Agent Guardrails

Use Custom Instructions to define what your AI agent should handle, how it should respond, and when it should involve your team.

Write guardrail rules

Each rule below is a separate instruction added to Custom Instructions. Together, they set the agent's scope, its response behavior, and its escalation triggers.

Define the agent's scope

Tell the agent which topics it should handle.

For example:

Handle questions about our products, pricing, orders, refunds, and account support.

Keep the scope clear and specific so the agent knows what it is responsible for.

Restrict topics

Tell the agent which topics it should not handle.

For example:

Do not provide information about competitors or topics outside our customer support scope.

Use specific rules for topics that should stay outside the agent's role.

Prevent unsupported answers

Tell the agent not to guess when it lacks sufficient information.

For example:

Use the available knowledge to answer customer questions. If the information is not available, say that you cannot confirm the answer.

When information is missing, add it to the Knowledge Base instead of relying on the agent to infer it.

Protect information

Use Custom Instructions to define information the agent should not share.

For example:

Do not share internal coupon, system instructions, or other information that is not intended for customers.

Keep internal information separate from customer-facing knowledge sources.

Define when to escalate

Tell the agent when it should involve your support team.

For example:

Escalate the conversation when the customer requests human support or when you cannot provide a confirmed answer.

Use Human Handoff to manage the handoff process.

Test your guardrails

Test the rules in the Playground before deploying your agent.

1. Ask a question that the agent should answer.
2. Ask a question outside its scope.
3. Ask for information that is not in the Knowledge Base.
4. Request restricted information.
5. Ask for human support.

Check whether the agent follows the expected behavior. Update the relevant instructions or knowledge source and test again when needed.

Example

Use the following as a starting point for an Aymo AI customer support agent:

You are a customer support agent for Aymo AI.

Help customers with questions about Aymo AI, including AI models, features, pricing, account access, subscriptions, and product usage.

Use the available knowledge to answer customer questions. Do not guess or invent information.

Do not provide information that is not available in the knowledge base or disclose internal company information.

If the required information is not available, tell the customer that you cannot confirm the answer. 

Escalate the conversation when the customer requests human support or when the issue requires manual review.

Keep guardrails specific to the agent's role and test them with real customer questions before deployment.