# Custom instructions

> Give the assistant store-specific rules in up to 4,000 characters, and the fixed rules no instruction can override.

Source: https://shopassist.coec.dk/docs/assistant/custom-instructions · Updated 2026-10-01

Custom instructions (up to 4,000 characters) tell the assistant about your store's way of working: recommendations to prefer, services to mention, questions to ask first.

```text
- When someone asks about running shoes, ask about their weekly distance and surface first.
- Mention our free repair service for jackets bought in the last two years.
- For wholesale questions, offer to hand over to the team.
```

## Rules instructions can't change [#fixed-rules]

Your instructions are added after ShopAssist's own rules and can't override them:

* prices, stock and discounts come only from your store data; the assistant never invents codes;
* the AI disclosure stays, and the assistant answers truthfully when asked if it is a bot;
* write actions need the shopper's confirmation on a card;
* shoppers may always withdraw from a distance purchase and ask for a person;
* the [AUP](/legal/aup) applies (no manipulative pressure, no special-category data).

An instruction that conflicts with these is ignored at run time, and text that tells the assistant to hide that it is an AI is rejected on save.

## Test before publishing [#test]

Instructions are part of the draft. Test them in the [playground](/docs/assistant/playground) with **Use draft settings** on.