> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.heyy.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Identity & style

> Guidelines for who your employee is and how they communicate.

**Identity & style** is the first guideline category on the **Identity & guidelines** tab. Use it for who your employee is in conversation and how they communicate — introductions, language choices, and presentation rules that apply across most replies.

[Identity setup](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/identity-setup) already sets name, brand, role, tone, and answer length. Identity & style guidelines add nuance on top: how to greet on the first message, when to use the contact's name, or how formal to stay when a customer gets frustrated.

If tone of voice sets the broad category — friendly, neutral, professional, playful — Identity & style is where that category gets sharpened into something specific and intentional. You might configure a **playful, witty, and persuasive** voice for the equivalent of a charismatic, high-energy salesperson, or something far more restrained and clinical for an employee representing a medical or legal service.

<Tip>
  Do not repeat tone or answer length here — those belong in [Identity setup](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/identity-setup). Use this category for rules that need words, not sliders.
</Tip>

## When to use Identity & style

Open the **Identity & style** accordion in [**AI Employees**](https://app.heyy.io/ai-employees) and add guidelines when you need chat-specific voice rules that identity setup does not cover.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/heyy-c8bd5c9e/1coCVJUJuVs6SA9x/assets/ai-employees-guidelines-identity-and-style.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=1coCVJUJuVs6SA9x&q=85&s=d32da349c840460c414fa7ed0cf18aa9" alt="Identity & style guideline template library, including &#x22;Speak the customer's language&#x22; and &#x22;Write in our voice&#x22;" width="1704" height="804" data-path="assets/ai-employees-guidelines-identity-and-style.png" />
</Frame>

| Use Identity & style for                     | Use Identity setup instead                  |
| -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| How to introduce yourself on the first reply | Employee name, brand name, and role         |
| When to use the contact's first name         | Tone of voice and answer length             |
| Emoji, slang, or formality in edge cases     | Gender and avatar presentation              |
| Language or regional presentation rules      | Global defaults that apply to every message |

For goals, @Content, @Actions, and @Assets, use [Conversation flow & objectives](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/conversation-flow-and-objectives). For limits and escalation, use [Boundaries](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/boundaries).

## Example guidelines

These are the three default **Suggestions** templates in the app. Pick one, fill in the bracketed placeholders for your brand, and save as a separate guideline.

**Speak the customer's language**

> Always reply in the language the customer writes in. If a conversation mixes languages, follow the customer's most recent message. Keep product names and brand terms like \[product name] in their original form.

**Write in our voice**

> Write the way our brand speaks: \[e.g. confident, plain-spoken, lightly witty]. A good reply sounds like: "\[example sentence in your brand's voice]". Avoid \[e.g. corporate filler, exclamation marks, starting replies with an apology].

**Use our vocabulary**

> Use our terminology consistently: say \[our term] instead of \[generic term], and call plans and products by their exact names. Never invent abbreviations for our products or describe our features using competitor terminology.

## Common mistakes

| Mistake                                             | What to do instead                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Repeating tone or answer length from identity setup | Keep those in [Identity setup](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/identity-setup); use guidelines for situational nuance.                                                                                     |
| Conflicting rules across multiple guidelines        | Merge overlapping instructions into one guideline with a single clear prompt.                                                                                                                                         |
| Putting flow or escalation rules here               | Move goals and handoff logic to [Conversation flow & objectives](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/conversation-flow-and-objectives) or [Boundaries](/help/ai-employees/identity-and-guidelines/boundaries). |