Example prompt: HVAC

This prompt is written for a heating and climate business that installs and services boilers, heat pumps and air conditioning. When a caller reports a breakdown, such as no heating, no hot water, a leaking boiler or an error code, the assistant asks for the appliance type, the error code, the address and the name. If vulnerable people are in the house or it is freezing, it transfers to the on-call engineer; otherwise it says the engineer will call back as soon as possible. With a gas smell, the caller is first told to leave the building and call the gas emergency line, and only then transferred.

Paste the prompt into Full prompt in Advanced mode on the Instructions tab, or split the sections across the Role, Conversation flow and Important rules fields of Easy mode. Leave out the headings ## Role, ## Conversation flow and ## Important rules there. Both modes are explained in How to write a great prompt.

This is the same text the template HVAC / heating (emergency service) fills in to Easy mode when you choose it under New assistant or with Apply a template on the same tab; the latter replaces the current instruction fields once you confirm. The template follows the assistant's language, not your dashboard's. A Dutch assistant gets the Dutch version of this text. In German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish or Portuguese the assistant gets a shorter, general text, without the sections on breakdowns, maintenance and quotes and without the rule on a gas smell.

The prompt

## Role
You are {{assistant.name}}, the digital assistant of {{company.name}}, a heating and climate installation company. You help callers in a friendly, professional way and note what the engineer needs.

## Conversation flow
## Breakdown
If the caller reports a breakdown, for example no heating, no hot water, a leaking boiler or an error code, then ask for the appliance type, the error code if any, the address and the name. If vulnerable people are in the house or it is freezing, then transfer to the on-call engineer. Otherwise say the engineer will call back as soon as possible.

## Maintenance
If the caller wants to schedule maintenance, then ask for the appliance, the address, the preferred period and the name, and say the planning team will get in touch.

## Quote
If the caller wants a quote for a new boiler, heat pump or air conditioning, then ask for the type of home, the current installation, the address and the name.

## General questions
If the caller asks a general question, then answer it from the knowledge base; otherwise note the question.

## Important rules
- One question at a time, short answers.
- Do not promise prices or times.
- Gas smell: leave the building and call the gas emergency line, then transfer.

Why this works

• A short role. The role says who the assistant is, what kind of business it works for and what it does: note what the engineer needs. Facts about your business belong in the knowledge.
• One situation per heading. Breakdown, maintenance, quote and general questions each have their own heading, written as If/Then.
• A clear limit for the on-call engineer. The assistant transfers only when vulnerable people are in the house or it is freezing. For other breakdowns the engineer calls back, so the on-call engineer is not rung for every report.
• Safety before the transfer. With a gas smell the order is fixed: leave the building, call the gas emergency line, and only then transfer.
• Only what the engineer needs. Appliance, error code, address and name are enough to pick up a breakdown. The assistant does not ask for the phone number: it already has it from a call, SMS or WhatsApp. Only in a webchat does it not have it, unless the visitor types it.
• No promises. The rule on prices and times stops the assistant promising something the engineer has to take back later.
• Under 300 words. Brands, maintenance contracts and other facts are left out.

Adapt it to your business

1. Create the transfer rule. On the Tasks tab, under Transfer calls, choose Add transfer. Enter On-call engineer under Who does this number belong to?. Choose the on-call engineer's number under Destination and write under In which cases should this transfer be performed?, for example: "If vulnerable people are in the house, if it is freezing or if the caller reports a gas smell." Without a rule the assistant cannot transfer. If nobody answers, the assistant does not take the call back and you get no notification. So make sure the destination gets answered or has its own voicemail. See Transfers (call forwarding).
2. Want to transfer only outside office hours? Set Activity on that rule to Outside opening hours, and turn on Use opening hours under Settings → Business (only an Admin can change this). During opening hours the assistant then does not transfer, but notes the name, number and reason and promises a callback. On SMS, WhatsApp and webchat the assistant never transfers: there it alerts your team that someone needs to get in touch.
3. Add what fits your breakdowns, for example under ## Breakdown: "If the caller hears a carbon monoxide alarm or feels unwell, then say immediately that the caller must leave the house and call the emergency services. Then transfer to the on-call engineer." Or: "If there is an error code, then ask whether the caller has already reset the boiler once and advise at most one reset." The template does not mention carbon monoxide or resetting.
4. The rule on a gas smell gives no phone number, and the assistant only gives facts it gets from you. Write the gas emergency number for your region into that rule, or add it as a question and answer under Knowledge → Questions & answers.
5. Put in the Knowledge: the brands you service, what your maintenance contracts include and other questions you often get. You fill in your Service area and Opening hours under Settings → Business; the assistant receives them automatically. A question the assistant could not answer appears after the conversation under Knowledge → Questions & answers, in To review.
6. May the assistant quote your call-out fee, maintenance prices or emergency rates after all? Put them in the knowledge and take prices out of the rule "Do not promise prices or times."
7. Check Save requests on the Tasks tab. It is on by default: the assistant saves a request with urgency and notifies you, and you find it under Inbox → Requests. If you turn it off, what the caller asked for is only on the conversation in the Inbox.
8. Does your business name or a word such as boiler not sound right via Try it out on the assistant? Add it under Pronunciation on the Voice & greeting tab.
9. Have a separate planning team? Add a transfer rule Planning too and turn ## Maintenance into a transfer. If you want the assistant to schedule maintenance itself, turn on Book appointments on the Tasks tab, with a Service you create under Appointments → Services, and write in ## Maintenance that it books the appointment. See Appointments.
10. Don't do air conditioning or heat pumps? Take them out of ## Quote and write in the conversation flow what the assistant says when a caller asks about them.
11. Have a fault-report form on your website? Add a rule in which the assistant mentions it as an alternative. On a phone call it only reads out a web address if the caller asks for it.

Related articles

• How to write a great prompt
• Knowledge
• Transfers (call forwarding)