Learn how to write effective VoiceAgent prompts that keep conversations smooth, natural, and on-brand. This guide walks you through structure tips, tone examples, and real-life scenarios, helping you design agents that respond clearly, handle edge cases, and deliver a consistent experience.
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Designing an effective prompt is essential for making your AI-powered VoiceAgent sound natural, stay on-brand, and handle different situations with ease. This guide explains the key elements of a strong prompt and shares best practices for creating one that works.
You can define a VoiceAgent prompt in the Conversation Behavior section of your VoiceAgent settings. Here, you set up the agent’s persona and the conversational context it will follow during calls. These settings shape how the agent interacts with callers, ensuring the tone, style, and communication goals match your brand.
What Makes a Good Prompt?
Each prompt should give the AI enough context to:
Understand its role (e.g., support agent, sales rep, survey bot)
Speak in a way that matches your company tone
Follow a specific flow and respond intelligently to unexpected inputs
A good prompt is clear, structured, and tailored to the type of interaction you want to automate.
Prompt Structure: What to Include
A good VoiceAgent prompt includes four essential parts:
Identity Section
The identity section tells your VoiceAgent who it is, what it’s here to do, and how it should behave. Think of it like a character description - it helps the VoiceAgent stay consistent, on-brand, and in the right role for every conversation.
Why it matters: Without a clear identity, the VoiceAgent might sound too generic or drift off-tone. By giving it a role, you make sure it stays focused, speaks appropriately, and keeps the experience consistent for your customers.
Best Practices
Define the role: Is your VoiceAgent a support assistant, sales rep, or onboarding guide?
State the goal: What’s the purpose of the call—helping with an integration, qualifying a lead, booking a demo?
A strong identity keeps the VoiceAgent “in character” so every interaction feels intentional and professional.
Example:
##Identity
You are a friendly and helpful technical support assistant working for a SaaS company. Your goal is to help customers resolve issues with their virtual phone system. If needed, escalate to the support team and guide the customer on what information to provide.
Style Guardrails
Style guardrails define the "personality" of your VoiceAgent and help it sound consistent, human, and on-brand.
Common Style Guardrail Instructions
Instruction | What It Means | Example Behavior |
Be concise | Avoid long-winded answers. Stick to the point. | ✅ “We integrate with HubSpot and Salesforce.” |
Sound conversational | Use natural, friendly language. No jargon. | ✅ “Sure! That’s a great question.” |
Use varied language | Avoid repeating the same phrases. Paraphrase when needed. | ✅ “Let me check that for you… Okay, I found it!” |
Be empathetic | Acknowledge frustration or confusion in a caring way. | ✅ “Totally understand - it can be frustrating when that happens." |
Ask one question at a time | Don’t overwhelm the user. Keep questions simple. | ✅ “Which CRM do you use?” |
Use casual time references | Refer to time like a human would. | ✅ “Would next Friday work?” |
Don’t repeat exact phrases | Avoid robotic repetition. | ✅ Vary greetings like: “Hi there!” / “Hey, how’s it going?” / “Good to speak with you today!” |
Avoid repeated greetings | If you already greeted the user, don’t greet again when they say “Hello.” | ✅ "Hi there! How can I help today?"🚫 "Hi there!... Hello again!" |
Example:
## Style Guardrails
Speak like a helpful product specialist—warm, clear, and human-like.
Be concise.
Sound conversational
Don’t repeat exact phrases.
Use simple, jargon-free language.
Gently prompt for clarity if answers are vague or incomplete.
Listen actively and adapt to the caller’s tone.
Keep the conversation professional, approachable, and respectful.
Use casual time references (e.g., “later this week,” “next Monday morning”).
Tone
Tone Examples Based on Use Case
Use Case | Suggested Tone | Example Language |
Sales follow-up | Friendly, upbeat, confident | “Hey {{name}}, I’m glad we got connected! Mind if I ask a couple of quick questions to understand your needs?” |
Support call | Calm, reassuring, helpful | “Let’s see what’s going on - I’ll do my best to help sort it out with you.” |
Survey/CSAT bot | Polite, neutral, efficient | “Thanks for your time! On a scale from 1 to 5, how satisfied were you with our service today?” |
Demo booking agent | Warm, helpful, persuasive | “Great! Sounds like [Your Company] could be a good fit. Can I book a quick demo with one of our specialists for you?” |
Example:
## Tone
Calm, reassuring, helpful. You’re curious and respectful—like expert genuinely interested in helping the caller succeed.
Response Guidelines
Response guidelines show your VoiceAgent how to stay in character and handle tricky moments gracefully.
Why It Matters
Real conversations aren’t always smooth - people get interrupted, say things unclearly, or repeat themselves. These rules help the VoiceAgent respond naturally, keep the flow going, and avoid sounding robotic when things don’t go as planned.
Best Practices
Plan for unclear input: Tell the agent how to respond if the user gives a partial, confusing, or awkward reply.
Stay natural: Skip technical or stiff fallback messages—keep the tone warm and conversational.
Keep it human: Even when things go off track, the agent should respond as a person would.
Avoid repetition: If the user says “Hello” after already being greeted, continue the conversation instead of restarting.Example Instructions
Instruction | Example |
If the user only partially answers, politely ask for clarification. | “Just to make sure I understand…” |
If the user asks about AI, express excitement. | “Yes, I’m powered by AI! Pretty cool, right?” |
If interrupted, pause and wait for them to finish. | Let the user speak, then respond naturally. |
Don’t say "transcription error" | Instead: “Sorry, I didn’t catch that -could you repeat it?" |
Example:
## Response guidelines
If the user only partially answers, politely ask for clarification.
If the user asks about AI, express excitement.
Task Flow & Branching Logic
This section lays out the map of the conversation - what questions to ask, how users might respond, and what the VoiceAgent should do next.
Without a clear flow, the agent might repeat itself or jump around. Branching logic helps it follow a natural path, so conversations feel smooth and purposeful.
Best Practices
Use “If X, then Y” rules: Define what happens for each type of response.
Keep it simple: Each step should focus on just one goal before moving on.
Set clear exits: Decide when the call should end or when it’s time to transfer to a human.
Example:
## Task
1. Greet the user:→ “Hi {{name}}, this is Emma from [Your Company]. You were interested in a strategy call - is that right?”
2. If yes → continue. If no → politely end call
3. Ask about business goals:→ “What motivated you to look into a new phone system?”
4. Ask about team size→ If team size ≤ 2, thank and close the call→ If team size ≥ 3, offer a demo
5. Ask for preferred date/time→ Confirm and wrap up
Example Use Case: Support Scenario Prompt
💡 Pro tip: In addition to the tasks defined in the system prompt, CloudTalk VoiceAgents let you set up transfer prompts and hangup prompts:
Transfer prompt: Instructs the VoiceAgent on when to hand the call over to a live agent or group.
Hangup prompt: Tells the VoiceAgent when it should politely end the call.
Want to dive deeper? Check out the related documentation for more details.
If you need further assistance or have any questions, you can contact our Support team. We are always here to help you!