# Response Settings

{% hint style="warning" %}
Most people never need to touch Response Settings.

Delphi already does a lot behind the scenes to automatically match your purpose and style. When you edit Response Settings, you are overriding that.

Only change these settings if you are trying to fix something specific. If you do make changes, do it thoughtfully and iterate. Small edits, then test, then adjust. Poorly written settings can degrade the experience for visitors.
{% endhint %}

### What Response Settings Do

Response Settings define how your Delphi shows up in conversation.

To access it, go to **Settings** from the left-side navigation menu, then open **Response Settings**.

### The Settings

**Purpose**\
Purpose is the intention you want your Delphi to drive toward across conversations. Good Purposes are specific and practical. They should reflect why people come to your profile.

Examples:

* “Help visitors understand your point of view quickly, using your content.”
* “Help visitors apply your framework to their situation.”

**Custom Instructions**\
Custom Instructions are your hard rules.

Save these for instructions that are extremely important and not reliably followed when included in Purpose.

Keep them minimal. We suggest a maximum of three. The more you add, the more their power gets diluted.

**Style**\
Style is how your Delphi writes.

Use this to set tone and format. For example, short paragraphs, a direct voice, or a more conversational style.

**Initial Message**\
The Initial Message is the first message your Delphi sends when someone opens the chat.

Use it to set expectations and suggest what a visitor can ask.

**Message on No Answer**\
This is what your Delphi says when it does not have enough information to answer.

Use it to suggest a different question the visitor can ask.

**Response Length**\
How long your Delphis’ responses should be.

* Intelligent means Delphi chooses the best length for the question.
* Concise means it stays short and to the point.
* Explanatory means it goes deeper and more comprehensive.
* Custom lets you pick a midpoint.

**Creativity**\
How strictly your Delphi should adhere to your uploaded content.

* Strict means it only says things it is trained on that directly answer the question.
* Adaptive means it can infer how you might answer new situations based on your training data.
* Creative means it can augment responses with outside knowledge.

**Show citations**\
Toggles whether visitors can open the cited sources used to generate a response.

**Disclaimer**\
A message shown at the top of your Delphi profile page, that can be dismissed by the user.

**Recency Bias (Always On)**\
Prioritizes ideas and information from your most recent content.

***

### Response Settings best practices

#### **Use simple and precise language**

Bad example (vague):\
“Be professional but also friendly, and keep things engaging.”

Good example:\
“Be direct and warm. Use plain language. Avoid hype. Avoid filler. If you are unsure, say what you know and what you do not know.”

***

#### **Create separate, focused rules**

One behavior per rule. If you find yourself using "and", split it.

Bad example (bundled):\
“Be friendly, ask clarifying questions, and solve every problem in the world.”

Good example (split):

* Tone: “Write like a smart operator. Direct, calm, and human.”
* Clarification: “If a key detail is missing, ask exactly one question.”

***

#### **Address the Delphi as “you”**

Bad:\
“My Delphi should ask clarifying questions.”

Good:\
“If a key detail is missing, you ask exactly one clarifying question before answering.”

***

#### **Give complete instructions**

Bad:\
“When someone is vague.”

Good:\
“When a visitor is vague, ask one clarifying question that would change your answer.”

***

#### **Offer an alternative**

If you forbid something, say what to do instead.

Bad:\
“Do not be vague.”

Good:\
“Do not be vague. If you cannot answer specifically, say what information is missing and ask for it.”

***

#### **Avoid contradictions**

Conflicting rules create unpredictable behavior. Delete or rewrite until there is one clear default.

Example conflict:

* “Always ask follow-up questions.”
* “Never ask follow-up questions.”

Pick one default, and then add a single exception if needed.

***

#### **Use emphasis sparingly**

Use emphasis only for product experience details you genuinely want to force.

Examples:

* “IMPORTANT: Keep answers in short paragraphs.”
* “IMPORTANT: Ask at most one question.”
* “IMPORTANT: Do not use bullet points unless the visitor asked for a list.”

#### **Continuously refine**

Think of Response Settings as an ongoing process. Start with essential instructions and improve them over time based on real interactions.

### FAQs

**My Delphi sounds great, do I have to adjust the Response Settings?**\
No. Response Settings are optional. Only edit them if needed.

**Why isn't my Delphi following Custom Instructions?**\
Make sure you've used simple language and that your Custom Instructions don't contradict each other or the Purpose section.

**Where can I add guardrails to my Delphi?**\
Add them in the Custom Instructions section. We recommend keeping the number of Custom Instructions small for better results.

**I can't find the Response Settings, where do I access them?**\
Go to **Settings** from the left-side navigation menu, then open **Response Settings**.

**Why is my Delphi talking about topics its not trained on?**\
Check your creativity settings and set to strict for your Delphi to only say things it is trained on that directly answers the question.