Create and edit instructions

Optimizely Opal comes with prebuilt instructions to help you get started. You can modify these to match your brand voice and strategy, or create new instructions from scratch.

Instruction agents are an added level of context that you can provide to tell Optimizely Opal how to behave and when to run the instruction. Opal evaluates all available instructions and determines which ones apply to the current task.

Opal is not limited to a single instruction per action. It looks through every instruction to see what applies to its task, groups them, and produces output that meets the criteria of the prompt the user sends.

Create instructions

You can make the instructions simple or detailed, like the following examples:

• Simple – You should ask users for keywords they are targeting when they ask to generate content.
• Detailed – Here is everything about the tone of voice and style you should use when generating content across all channels.

When crafting the Details section of an instruction agent, think of it as providing guidance to a new team member. The more structured and comprehensive your instructions, the more effectively Opal can execute tasks. Detailed instructions reduce ambiguity and ensure consistent outputs.

A well-structured Details section should include the following:

• Objective or goal – Clearly state what the agent is intended to achieve.
• Mode activation – Specify the trigger phrase or condition that activates the agent.
• Execution steps or process – Outline step-by-step instructions the agent should follow, including any prompts or questions for the user.
• Response format guidelines – Define how the agent should format its responses (for instance, tables, lists).
• Constraints or safety measures – Highlight any limitations or considerations the agent should observe.

When you click to add an instruction, a page displays. You can name your instruction, add instruction details, and define when it applies.

Example brand voice

The following example defines the tone of voice Opal should use when generating text content aligned with your brand. You can have multiple brands, and Opal handles them. A user must specify in their prompt which brand they want Opal to create content for.

• Name – Brand 3 - Chickens
• Details – Brand voice for customers who love chickens.
  • Tone – Energetic, informative, approachable, positive.
  • Content – Easy-to-understand messaging with informative facts about chickens. Always include sayings like "cock-a-doodle-doo!" at the end.
• Where to use
  • Product – Content Marketing Platform
  • Instance – Optimizely Marketing
• When to use – Use this prompt when creating content for brand 3.

The following images compare the default Opal configuration with Opal configured with instructions:

Default output – No brand tone applied.

Output with instruction – "Brand 3 - Chickens" tone instruction applied.

While the example shows a tone-of-voice instruction, you can use instructions to guide any type of content or task. Instructions can include the following:

• Generating articles – Ask users to provide target keywords and incorporate them throughout articles to ensure they are SEO-optimized.
• Generating long-form content such as articles or blog posts – Define how many words articles should contain and their paragraph structure.
• Generating campaign and task briefs – Define the formatting, structure, and headings that Opal should use for every campaign and task brief.
• Creating social posts – Set different strategies for different platforms.
• Translating content – Localize the content for the target locale.
• Conducting research – Supply research in a defined structure with defined headings.

Example SEO instruction

This example walks through an instruction that ensures articles are SEO-optimized.

• Name – Keyword Integration and SEO Optimization
• Details – Prompt for target keywords before generating article content, then integrate them strategically to support SEO. Always suggest some keywords to the user, based on their topic:
  • Title – Use the primary keyword in a compelling way.
  • Introduction – Introduce the keyword naturally to engage readers immediately.
  • Headings and Subheadings – Include keywords or related terms in H2 and H3 headers.
  • Body Text – Use the keyword naturally throughout the content, avoiding overuse.
  • Meta Description – Craft a brief meta description (up to 160 characters) that includes the primary keyword.
  • Ensure the article is SEO-optimized with effective keyword placement in titles, headings, and meta descriptions, balancing keyword use to avoid overload.
• Where to use
  • Product – Content Management System
  • Instance – SaaS
  • When to use – Use this prompt whenever generating SEO-focused content, including articles and blog posts. It is ideal for assets requiring keyword optimization, organic search visibility, and adherence to digital marketing best practices.

Be specific and descriptive with what you want Optimizely Opal to do and when.

Modify instructions

You can modify the following:

• Title – The name of the instruction (used internally or referenced by other tools).
• Overview – A summary of what the instruction does.
• Instruction – The actual behavioral prompt Optimizely Opal uses to generate content.
• When to Use – When the system should apply this instruction.
• Linked Tools – Any tools or contexts that automatically invoke this instruction. See Tools for instruction agents.

Best practices for modifying instructions.

• Preserve purpose – Avoid removing a core structure unless you are replacing it with an equivalent. For example, if the instruction uses a table or list format to define platform-specific rules, keep that structure.
• Be explicit and actionable – Use clear, imperative language. Tell Opal what to do, not just what to consider.
• Keep platform logic intact – If the instruction is platform-specific (like Instagram or LinkedIn), maintain conditional logic unless your content use case is limited to a single channel.
• Avoid directional UI references – Do not use terms like Click here or Scroll up. Instead, use context-aware phrasing like Select a post type.
• Maintain attribution tags (if used) – Some instructions include tags like @industrialize to trigger modes. Preserve these if the instruction relies on them.

Submit changes to instructions

Depending on your configuration, you can do the following:

• Edit through the Opal admin panel, if available.
• Submit a request to your implementation team to update the instruction schema.
• Export and version-control your instruction edits as part of a centralized prompt library.

Get creative

The Where to use section can help you target your instructions on demand. Enter @mention in the When to use field to set Opal into a particular mode to complete a task. 

The following example shows when a user types @chunk, Opal enters Bitesize Mode. This mode asks a user to provide a URL, analyzes the page content, and provides options for promoting the page across LinkedIn.

Example ideas

• When a user types @retail – Industry Retail Marketer Mode – Analyze a URL and create a variation specific to the retail industry
• When a user types @refresh – Article Update Mode – Analyze a URL, research the topic, and create a relevant version.

To learn how to extend instruction agents with additional capabilities, see Tools for instruction agents.
Or explore the prebuilt instruction agents to see what is already available.