How to customise your AI prompts and voice
You can give the AI standing instructions: how formal to be, what vocabulary to use for condition, what to never claim, and what every listing in a category must mention. Written well, these instructions do more for draft quality than any amount of per-item editing.
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Why standing instructions beat repeated edits
If you find yourself making the same correction on every item — removing a word you dislike, adding a sentence you always add, changing how condition is phrased — that is not an editing task. It is an instruction you have not written down yet.
Moving a repeated correction into a standing instruction converts a recurring cost into a one-off one.
What is worth specifying
- Tone: plain and factual, warm and conversational, or specialist and technical. Pick one and be consistent.
- Condition vocabulary: define what you mean by excellent, very good, good and fair, so grading is consistent across a thousand items and across staff.
- Banned phrases: filler like "stunning", "must-have" and "rare find" that adds length without adding information.
- Required elements: for example, always mention era for vintage, always mention material for outerwear, always state whether measurements are taken flat.
- Claims to avoid: authenticity assertions, medical or safety claims, comparisons to brands you do not stock.
- Regional spelling and units, so a Canadian shop does not produce American spelling.
Define condition language once
This is the highest-value instruction most sellers can write, because condition drives both returns and disputes, and because inconsistent grading across staff is invisible until it becomes a pattern of complaints.
| Grade | A workable definition |
|---|---|
| Excellent | No visible flaws; may be unworn or as-new |
| Very good | Light wear consistent with occasional use; no repairs, no stains |
| Good | Visible wear, all photographed; fully functional |
| Fair | Significant wear or a specific named flaw; priced accordingly |
Whatever definitions you choose, write them into your instructions and use the same words in your listings. Buyers learn what your grades mean, and repeat buyers stop asking.
Iterate rather than perfect
- 1
Start with three or four rules
Tone, condition vocabulary, and two or three banned phrases. Do not write an essay on day one.
- 2
Watch what you keep correcting
Over a week, notice the edit you make repeatedly. That is your next rule.
- 3
Add it and check the effect
Draft a few items and read them. If the rule did not change anything, it was too vague.
- 4
Prune occasionally
Instructions accumulate. A rule that no longer reflects how you write is worse than no rule.
Frequently asked questions
Can instructions differ by category?
Yes, and they should. What a listing for a vintage jacket needs to mention is not what a listing for a mid-century sideboard needs to mention.
Will the AI follow instructions perfectly?
It follows concrete, checkable rules well and vague aspirations poorly. Review remains part of the process — the goal is fewer edits, not zero edits.
Do instructions apply to existing listings?
They apply to new drafts. To bring existing listings into line, regenerate or bulk edit them deliberately.
What if two team members want different styles?
Pick one house style and write it down. A shop where listings read differently depending on who did intake looks like several shops, and that costs more than the disagreement is worth.
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