Configure Brand Guidelines in Opal
Why instructions matter for AI
Section titled “Why instructions matter for AI”Without guidelines, Opal generates content that is well-written but sounds generic. Every organization has a voice — formal or casual, technical or accessible, bold or measured. Instructions tell Opal how to adapt its output so that generated content is consistently on-brand, whether a content author uses it for a blog post or a marketer uses it for campaign copy.
Opal’s instructions system goes beyond simple brand voice. Instructions are foundational context, rules, and behavioral guidelines that shape every response. They can include brand tone, product details, personas, term-bases, and compliance requirements. A key differentiator is Opal’s ability to dynamically select and apply instructions based on the context of each request.
Two levels of instructions
Section titled “Two levels of instructions”Opal separates instructions into two types that work together:
Organization-wide (instance) instructions
Section titled “Organization-wide (instance) instructions”Set by administrators, these enforce standards across every user in the organization. Use them for:
- Brand voice and tone — Define how your organization communicates
- Compliance rules — Enforce regulatory language requirements
- Approved terminology — Set preferred and banned terms
- Templates and formats — Standardize output structure
- Tool usage rules — Specify when certain tools should or should not be used
Personal instructions
Section titled “Personal instructions”Set by individual users, these customize Opal’s behavior for your own workflows without affecting anyone else. Use them for:
- Response format preferences — Bullet points vs. prose, short vs. detailed
- Tone adjustments — More casual or more formal than the org default
- Expertise level — Technical depth appropriate for your role
- Language preferences — Default output language
- Output defaults — Standard length, structure, or style you prefer
How Opal selects instructions
Section titled “How Opal selects instructions”When you send a request, Opal does not blindly apply every instruction. It follows a selection process:
- Gathers all active instructions (both organization-wide and personal)
- Matches tool-based instructions first — if an instruction specifies it should activate when a particular tool runs, that match takes priority
- Evaluates remaining instructions for relevance using AI, based on the “When to use” conditions you defined
- Injects matched instructions into the context for the current request
The relevancy model is intentionally inclusive. Opal errs toward applying an instruction rather than skipping it, so writing clear “When to use” conditions is important to avoid conflicts.
Anatomy of an instruction
Section titled “Anatomy of an instruction”Every instruction contains five elements:
| Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name | A brief, descriptive identifier for easy recognition |
| Active | Toggle that controls whether Opal considers this instruction |
| Core Instruction | The behavioral guidance: objectives, steps, format rules, constraints |
| Where to use | Which Optimizely products and instances the instruction applies to |
| When to use | Conditions that determine when Opal activates this instruction |
Writing effective “When to use” conditions
Section titled “Writing effective “When to use” conditions”- Anchor to specific workflows rather than vague intent (“When the user asks about Q4 campaign planning” not “When the user asks about marketing”)
- State keywords explicitly to prevent semantic mismatches
- Add negative conditions (“Do NOT use for technical documentation requests”)
- List synonyms for narrow concepts to maintain coverage
- Draw clear boundaries between similar instructions to avoid overlap
Prebuilt instructions
Section titled “Prebuilt instructions”Optimizely provides nine prebuilt instructions (turned off by default):
- Campaign Brief
- Industry Marketer
- Keyword Research
- Marketing Planning Meeting
- Marketing Researcher
- Personalization Advisor
- Task Brief
- Tone of Voice
- Video Transcription
Enable any prebuilt instruction, then customize its core content to match your organization’s specific needs.
Test your guidelines
Section titled “Test your guidelines”After creating instructions:
- Open Opal Chat from any connected product
- Ask it to generate content that should trigger your instruction (for example, “Write a 100-word product description for our analytics dashboard”)
- Compare the output against your brand guidelines
- If the tone, terminology, or format is off, return to the instruction and refine the core content or “When to use” conditions
- Test edge cases — requests that are similar but should trigger different instructions
Maintain over time
Section titled “Maintain over time”Instructions need regular review:
- After a brand refresh or rebrand
- When entering new markets or audiences
- After team feedback on AI output quality
- When you add new Optimizely products
- Quarterly, as routine practice