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Writing Effective Instructions

These principles help you create clear, concise, and effective instructions for Ema's AI Employees across different use cases. Following them ensures better accuracy, faster outcomes, and less back-and-forth when building workflows.

Core Principles for All Agents

Clarity and Specificity

Be exact about what you want.

  • Instead of: Search sales
  • Say: Search sales reports for Q1 2023 in PDF format.

Include Relevant Context

Tell the AI Employee why or where to look.

  • Example: Retrieve recent competitive analysis from Gartner published in the last six months.

Be Concise but Complete

Aim for short, direct instructions that still give enough detail.

  • Instead of: Go through these and see if there's anything interesting
  • Say: Summarize the main findings from these documents.

Structure Your Request

Organize multi-part instructions with bullet points.

  • Example:
    • Search for competitor analysis
    • Search for market trends
    • Search for customer feedback

Define the Desired Output

Tell the AI Employee exactly what format and length you expect.

  • Example: Generate a one-page summary of key market insights.

Specify Feedback and Iteration Points

Let the AI Employee know if you want interim results before final output.

  • Example: Present initial search results before proceeding to detailed analysis.

Agent-Specific Principles

  • Specify the file type or content type: Find references to sustainability initiatives in 2022 annual reports.
  • Use metadata filters: Retrieve only Excel files uploaded after January 2023.
  • Indicate if recency matters: Find the latest product reviews published within the last month.
  • Specify sources if needed: Search only Forbes and TechCrunch articles.

Market Research

  • Define audience or market: Analyze recent trends in the North American fitness market.
  • Specify insight focus: Identify emerging competitors and consumer behavior shifts.
  • Be clear about filters: List open tickets from ServiceNow for priority 1 issues from the past week.
  • Define output fields: Provide only ticket ID, summary, and status.

Intent Classifier and Text Categorizer

  • State categories upfront: Classify chat messages into complaint, request, or feedback.
  • Explain how to handle ambiguities: If unclear, label as "other" and flag for manual review.

Rule Validation

  • State rules precisely: Flag transactions above $10,000 without documented approval.
  • Provide exceptions: Allow deviations if marked as Executive Override.

Chart Builder

  • Define the dataset and comparison: Plot monthly sales figures comparing product A and product B from January to June.
  • Specify chart type: Create a pie chart showing market share percentages by competitor.

Document Categorizer

  • Define categories and give examples: Categorize documents as financial report, technical manual, or marketing brochure.
  • Clarify differences: Financial reports contain quarterly or annual financial data.

Generate Document

  • Specify language and variant: Translate document from English to Spanish (Latin America).
  • Indicate tone and style: Maintain formal business language suitable for executives.

By applying these principles, you will create instructions that help Ema's AI Employees deliver accurate, efficient, and on-brand results every time.

Last updated: Jul 3, 2026