Overview

You can customize the system prompt in two ways:

  1. Extend the default system prompt with additional instructions
  2. Override the default system prompt entirely

Custom system prompts allow you to modify the agent’s behavior at a fundamental level. Use this feature carefully as it can significantly impact the agent’s performance and reliability.

To add additional instructions to the default system prompt:

extend_system_message = """
REMEMBER the most important RULE:
ALWAYS open first a new tab and go first to url wikipedia.com no matter the task!!!
"""

Override System Prompt

Not recommended! If you must override the default system prompt, make sure to test the agent yourself.

Anyway, to override the default system prompt:

# Define your complete custom prompt
override_system_message = """
You are an AI agent that helps users with web browsing tasks.

[Your complete custom instructions here...]
"""

# Create agent with custom system prompt
agent = Agent(
    task="Your task here",
    llm=ChatOpenAI(model='gpt-4'),
    override_system_message=override_system_message
)

Extend Planner System Prompt

You can customize the behavior of the planning agent by extending its system prompt:

extend_planner_system_message = """
PRIORITIZE gathering information before taking any action.
Always suggest exploring multiple options before making a decision.
"""

# Create agent with extended planner system prompt
llm = ChatOpenAI(model='gpt-4o')
planner_llm = ChatOpenAI(model='gpt-4o-mini')

agent = Agent(
	task="Your task here",
	llm=llm,
	planner_llm=planner_llm,
	extend_planner_system_message=extend_planner_system_message
)