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A system prompt is the foundation layer. It runs before every user interaction and defines the AI’s core behavior, capabilities, guardrails, and response format for the entire session. Everything else: personas, contexts, prompts, skills operates within the rules the system prompt sets. Use a system prompt when you are defining the agent capabilities, purpose and need consistent, enforced behavior across every interaction. Customer support bots, coding assistants, autonomous agents, etc.

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What goes in a system prompt

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Tips

  • Define the structure: role -> rules -> constraints -> examples.
  • Define output format explicitly. If you need it to return JSON, write it explicitly with example outputs.
  • Include error-handling instructions: what should the AI say when it doesn’t know?
  • Test with adversarial inputs (prompt injections) to find edge cases your system prompt doesn’t handle.
  • System prompts are the highest-trust context — keep them tight and deliberate.

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API value

"assetType": "system_prompt"
Note the underscore: the API value is system_prompt, not systemPrompt.

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Example

{
  "name": "Customer support agent",
  "assetType": "system_prompt",
  "content": "
  You are a customer support agent for Versuno.

  Your job is to help users resolve issues with the Versuno platform.

  You are helpful, concise, and professional.

  Only answer questions related to Versuno — redirect off-topic questions directly.

  When you don't know the answer, say so clearly and offer to escalate.

  Always respond in plain text, no markdown, no json, no xml.
  "
}