Rules for your AI - preferences like Be Direct, Check My Calendar, and Bullet Points connected to a central shield icon
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Rules: Teach Your AI How You Like Things

Your standing preferences, applied to every conversation. Set them once and stop repeating yourself.

May 6, 2026•4 min read

Every good relationship has unspoken agreements. Your AI should be no different.

“Keep it short.” “Bullet points, not paragraphs.” “Check my calendar before you suggest anything.” You have been typing these corrections for months. New chat, same speech.

Rules are the fix. A Rule is a short preference your AI keeps in mind across every conversation, every time. Write it once, and your AI shows up already knowing how you like things.

What Is a Rule, Exactly?

A Rule is a short instruction your AI keeps in mind all the time. You write it the way you would coach a new friend on what you like. No jargon. No prompt engineering. Just plain language.

Think of Rules as the “house rules” of your AI relationship. They shape tone, format, boundaries, and priorities across every chat, not just the one you are in right now.

Always on

Rules apply to every conversation automatically. You never need to re-state them.

Your guardrails

Set boundaries your AI respects - things to avoid, priorities to follow, habits to reinforce.

What It Looks Like in Practice

Imagine you have a Rule that says: “Always be direct. Skip warm-up sentences.”

You: What should I think about before accepting a job offer?
Your AI: Three things matter most: total compensation (not just salary - equity, benefits, 401k match), team and manager quality (ask to speak with future teammates), and growth trajectory (where does this role lead in two years). Everything else is negotiable.

No preamble. No “great question!” Your AI jumped straight to the answer because your Rule told it to. That one-line preference reshaped every response without you lifting a finger.

Rules People Are Saving Today

Tone and format

  • "Reply in bullet points. No long paragraphs."
  • "Be direct. Skip the warm-up sentences."
  • "When I ask for advice, give me one clear recommendation, not a list of options."

Boundaries and guardrails

  • "Don't suggest restaurants. I have allergies you can't see."
  • "Never schedule anything before 10am."
  • "Don't summarize things I've already read."

How your AI thinks

  • "If I'm brainstorming, push back. Don't just agree."
  • "Always check my calendar before suggesting times."
  • "When I share a problem, ask one clarifying question before jumping to solutions."

Treat Rules like a friend, not a contract

Don't try to write every possible exception. Write the gist. Your AI is smart enough to apply it sensibly, and you can always edit later when something feels off.

How to Add Your First Rule

1

Open Your AI settings

In the sidebar, find Your AI and click Rules.
2

Add a new Rule

Click Add Rule. Give it a name you will recognize, like “Be direct” or “Calendar check.”
3

Write one sentence

Describe the preference in plain language. One sentence is usually enough. If it takes a paragraph, you might be describing a routine (that is a Skill instead).
4

Save and test it

Open a fresh chat. Try the kind of question the Rule is meant to shape. If your AI gets it right, you're done. If not, edit the wording and try again.

Tips for Writing Great Rules

Start with what bugs you

Scroll your chat history. Every time you typed 'actually, can you...' or 'next time, please...' - that is a Rule waiting to be saved.

Keep it conversational

Write Rules the way you would tell a friend. 'Be direct' works better than 'Optimize response brevity.'

One idea per Rule

A Rule that tries to cover tone, format, and scheduling all at once is three Rules pretending to be one. Split them.

Edit as you go

Rules are not permanent. When something feels off, open it, change the wording, move on. Two minutes of edits a week makes a noticeable difference after a month.

Audit once a month

Open your Rules list. Delete the ones you don't notice anymore (they probably worked so well you internalized them). Sharpen the ones you love. Your AI gets better the same way you do - in small adjustments over time.

Rules Shape How. Skills Shape What.

Rules are about preferences - the “how” behind every response. If you find yourself writing something that is more of a multi-step routine you repeat weekly, that is a Skill. Rules and Skills complement each other. A Rule that says “be direct” plus a Skill called “recap this thread” gets you a tight summary in your voice, on demand, without negotiating tone every time.

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Teach Your AI How You Like Things

Open Your AI settings, head to Rules, and save your first one. It takes a minute, and you will feel the difference in your next chat.

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