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What is System Prompts?

It is a set of basic instructions that determine how artificial intelligence will behave and what rules it will follow.

Overview

System prompts are secret commands given to an AI model before a conversation begins. These instructions determine the model's identity, his style of speaking, and what he is restricted in. It constitutes the basic working principle of the model, regardless of the messages coming from the user.

Analogy: It is like the role sheet given to a theater actor before he goes on stage; Even though the actor improvises according to the current situation, the boundaries and personality of his character are written on this paper.

How it works

Developers add system prompts in the settings section of the model or via the API. Clear boundaries are drawn here, such as 'You are a teacher' or 'Only answer in technical terms'. The model remembers these instructions with each new message and shapes its responses accordingly.

Where it is used

It is used in the background of chatbots such as ChatGPT, in the configuration files of artificial intelligence applications, and in specially developed AI tools.

Commonly confused with

Can be confused with user prompts; The user prompt is your current question, while the system prompt is the general character of the model.

Frequently asked questions

Can the user see the system prompt?

Usually no, these instructions run in the background, but with some advanced methods the model can be asked to say these rules.

Why is the system prompt important?

It allows the model to avoid irrelevant topics and present a consistent personality.

Related terms

Related tools

This explanation was written in plain language for TreScout and machine-translated from the Turkish original · the Turkish version prevails. If something looks wrong or missing, write to hello@trescout.com. Read in Turkish →