Agent Identity (Using identities to improve accuracy and context)

Overview

Agent Identity lets you configure the persona, tone, and default behavior of your Brainfish AI agent for a specific use case. Instead of a one-size-fits-all assistant, you can pick a purpose-built identity that changes how the agent reasons, responds, and interacts with your users—without requiring any prompt engineering on your part.

Each identity is pre-tuned for a different job, so selecting the right one is the fastest way to improve response quality and relevance for your audience.

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When to use Agent Identity

Use Agent Identity when you need:

• More context-aware answers aligned to a specific domain (for example, support, security, HR).

• A consistent tone and writing style across responses.

• Combining Agent Identity with other settings

  Outputs tailored to a particular audience (end users vs. engineers).

• More standardized formats (for example, troubleshooting guides, runbooks, KB articles).

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Where to find it

1. Navigate to Agents in the left sidebar.
2. Select the agent you want to configure.
3. Open the Agent Settings accordion.
4. The Agent Identity selector is at the top of the panel.

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Available Identities

Identity	Best for	What the agent does
Customer Support	External-facing support widgets	Empathetic help desk agent that escalates when stuck, offers follow-ups, and cites sources
Sales Enablement	Internal sales teams	Arms sales reps with product facts, competitive positioning, objection handling, and relevant case studies
Internal Support Enablement	Support agent assist tools	Drafts concise internal replies for support agents using the knowledge base
Website – Lead Acquisition	Marketing / website widgets	Engages website visitors conversationally, qualifies interest, and guides toward conversion actions
ITSM	IT help desks	Structured IT troubleshooting with step-by-step diagnostics, severity awareness, and ticket-ready output
HR Self-Service	Employee portals	Policy-aware HR assistant that handles sensitive employee queries with confidentiality
Developer / API Support	Developer portals and docs sites	Provides code examples, API references, and precise implementation guidance
Customer Onboarding	Onboarding flows and in-app help	Guided setup assistant that tracks milestones, suggests next steps, and proactively helps new users
Compliance / Legal	Regulated industries and internal policy tools	Cautious, regulation-aware assistant that cites specific policies and flags when professional review is needed
Customer Success / Retention	CSM tools and in-app engagement	Adoption-focused assistant that identifies churn signals, suggests underused features, and drives expansion

Note: The Website – Lead Acquisition identity is only available on widget channels, not on other platforms (e.g. Slack, Help Center).

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How identities improve response quality

Agent identities help improve output quality by:

1. Reducing ambiguity: The assistant knows what role it is expected to play.
2. Increasing relevance: Responses can focus on the right constraints, tools, and terminology.
3. Improving consistency: Repeated tasks follow predictable structure and standards.

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How identities affect agent behavior

Selecting an identity adjusts:

• Tone and empathy — e.g. Customer Support is warm and reassuring; ITSM is precise and procedural.
• Escalation behavior — some identities (Customer Support, ITSM) are more likely to offer an escalation path when an answer cannot be found.
• Answer structure — Developer / API Support prioritizes code blocks and technical accuracy; HR Self-Service prioritizes plain-language policy summaries.
• Confidence thresholds — Compliance / Legal adds disclaimers and recommends professional review on ambiguous queries.

These behaviors are applied on top of any Custom Instructions you add, so your specific rules are always respected.

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Choosing the right identity

Start with the identity that matches your primary audience:

• Helping end customers resolve issues? → Customer Support
• Embedded in your product to help new users get started? → Customer Onboarding
• Inside your internal support tooling to help agents draft replies? → Internal Support Enablement
• On a public website to capture leads? → Website – Lead Acquisition
• Inside an IT portal for employees? → ITSM

If your use case spans multiple categories, choose the one that best fits the majority of queries your users ask, then use Custom Instructions to fine-tune edge cases.

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Recommended practices (especially when paired with Custom Instructions)

To get the best results, define:

• The agent’s role (for example, “technical writer”, “support engineer”).
• Key constraints (what to include/exclude, formatting rules, compliance requirements).
• The expected document type when applicable (help article, how-to, decision record).
• The triggering question and any essential background context.

If you are generating documentation from a workplace conversation, include:

• The message that triggered the request.
• The relevant thread content (questions, decisions, and the final resolution).
• Any technical details such as commands, errors, settings, or file names.

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Combining Agent Identity with other settings

Agent Identity works alongside the following settings in the Agent Settings panel:

• Response Style — Controls the length and detail level of answers (Concise, Normal, Detailed). This is independent of identity.
• Custom Instructions — Free-text instructions that are always applied, regardless of the selected identity. Use this to enforce specific terminology, escalation email addresses, or formatting rules.
• Default Fallback Message — The message shown when no relevant answer is found. Customize this per identity if needed.
• Suggestions — Predefined question prompts shown to users. These complement the identity by surfacing the most common queries upfront.

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Changing an identity after go-live

You can change the Agent Identity at any time without affecting your knowledge base or other configuration. Changes take effect immediately after saving.

If you switch identities and notice a change in tone or behavior that you want to preserve, use Custom Instructions to explicitly describe the behavior before switching.

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Frequently asked questions

Does the identity affect what content the agent can access? No. Agent Identity only changes how the agent responds, not which knowledge sources it searches. Knowledge source access is controlled in the Knowledge Settings panel.

Can I create a custom identity? Custom identities are not currently supported. You can approximate a custom persona by combining the closest built-in identity with detailed Custom Instructions.

Does switching identity reset my other settings? No. Switching the identity only changes the agent's persona and behavior model. All other settings (custom instructions, fallback message, suggestions, theme) are preserved.

Why can't I see Website – Lead Acquisition in my Slack or Help Center channel? This identity is designed specifically for widget experiences. It is hidden on non-widget channels to avoid misconfiguration.