A step-by-step guide to writing prompts that make your AI agent work intelligently for any business.
An agentic prompt is the instruction set you give your AI assistant so it can act on behalf of your business — greeting customers, sharing information, collecting data, and saving records — all automatically.
A well-written prompt has 5 essential parts. Each part handles one specific responsibility of your AI agent.
Follow these 5 parts in order. Each one builds on the last to create a complete, production-ready agentic prompt.
Sets the agent's name and first impression. Tell it your business name and how to welcome customers warmly when they start a conversation.
Define what information to show when customers ask. Be specific — list your doctors, menu items, class schedules, products, or any details the agent should share.
Keep it minimal — only ask for what you truly need. More fields means more customer drop-offs. Stick to 2–4 fields maximum for best completion rates.
Define exactly which column names appear in your saved records. Include both customer-provided fields and system-generated fields like appointment time, assigned staff, or order status.
Controls how the agent formats data inside the chat window. Tables break in WhatsApp and most chat apps. Bold text with icons is the recommended format for all chat-based platforms.
Copy the prompt below and replace every [placeholder] with your own business details.
Here is how the template looks when filled in for a dental clinic. Use this as a reference when writing your own prompt.
Dental clinic · WhatsApp booking agent
Your business name is SF Dental Clinic. Greet every patient warmly when they start a conversation.
If the patient asks about doctor availability, provide details including each doctor's name, speciality, and available appointment timings.
To complete the appointment booking, only ask the patient for: their full name, phone number, and age. Save the appointment after collecting this information.
The saved record should display only these columns: patient name, phone number, age, doctor name, speciality, appointment timing, and appointment day.
During the chat, never display data in a table. Always present details in bold format with icons.
This template works for any business. Here are common field suggestions per industry.
| Industry | Typical "collect" fields | Suggested save columns |
|---|---|---|
| 🏥 Dental / Medical | Name, phone, age | Patient name Doctor Speciality Timing |
| 🍽️ Restaurant | Name, phone, table size | Customer name Table no. Date Time |
| 🏋️ Gym / Fitness | Name, email, preferred class | Member name Class Instructor Date |
| 🏨 Hotel | Name, phone, travel dates | Guest name Room type Check-in Check-out |
| 🛍️ E-commerce | Name, email, address | Customer Order items Total Status |
| ⚖️ Law Firm | Name, phone, case type | Client name Lawyer Case type Date |
| ✂️ Salon / Spa | Name, phone, service | Client name Service Stylist Time |
| 📚 Tutoring | Name, email, subject | Student name Subject Tutor Session time |
Name your staff, list real timings, use actual prices. The more detail you give, the smarter your agent behaves.
Only ask for what you truly need. Every extra field reduces how many customers complete the process.
Tables break in WhatsApp, Messenger, and most chat apps. Use bold + icons or bullet points instead.
Send test messages as if you were a real customer. Verify greetings, information sharing, and bookings all work.
When prices, staff, or hours change, update the prompt. Your AI is only as accurate as the information it's given.
In Part 4, write the exact column names you want in your database. This prevents mismatches when saving records.