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

# Custom Instructions

> Customize how AI processes your transcriptions.

<div style={{ marginTop: "-1.5rem" }}>
  <Check>Custom Instructions for dictation are **free on every plan**. There is nothing to upgrade for.</Check>
</div>

## Overview

Custom Instructions guide how the AI handles your text. Vowen appends them to the system prompt used during AI Enhancement and Command Mode, marks them as the highest-priority section, and they override the base cleanup rules wherever the two conflict.

They are applied silently. The prompt forbids the model from echoing, quoting, summarising, or acknowledging your instructions, so nothing like "(per the rules above)" ever lands in your document.

<Frame caption="The global field lives on Configure your AI, directly beneath Enhance transcription with AI. It only appears once enhancement is on and a provider is connected.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/ai-enhancement-toggle.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=d64aac03fda9785de495766094d88f89" alt="The Configure your AI page with the Enhance transcription with AI row highlighted below the provider grid" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/ai-enhancement-toggle.png" />
</Frame>

## The three prompt inputs

Three inputs shape the prompt. You configure two of them; the third runs on its own.

<div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-4 my-6">
  <div className="rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-5">
    <div className="text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 font-semibold text-base mb-2">Global</div>
    <div className="font-semibold text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 mb-3">Configure your AI > Configuration > Custom Instructions</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-600 dark:text-zinc-400 leading-relaxed">A toggle plus a text area, directly beneath <strong>Enhance transcription with AI</strong>. Applies to every transcription regardless of app or mode. Click <strong>Save Changes</strong> to apply.</div>
  </div>

  <div className="rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-5">
    <div className="text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 font-semibold text-base mb-2">Per-Tone</div>
    <div className="font-semibold text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 mb-3">Tones > \[Tone] > Instructions</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-600 dark:text-zinc-400 leading-relaxed">Applies only while that Tone is active, matched on the focused app, the website you're on, or the Tone's own shortcut. See <a href="/ai-features/tones" className="text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 underline underline-offset-2">Tones</a>.</div>
  </div>

  <div className="rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-5">
    <div className="text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 font-semibold text-base mb-2">Dictionary (automatic)</div>
    <div className="font-semibold text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 mb-3">No setting to configure</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-600 dark:text-zinc-400 leading-relaxed">Your <a href="/features/dictionary" className="text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 underline underline-offset-2">Dictionary</a> entries are injected into every prompt as a context block, so the model spells your names and jargon your way.</div>
  </div>
</div>

When a Tone is active, the Tone's instructions go in **first** and your global instructions follow, both inside the same high-priority block. Keep permanent, universal rules global and situational voice in the Tone.

### The automatic dictionary block

You never write this one. Vowen builds it from your Dictionary and attaches it to every AI call:

| Where | How many terms |
| - | - |
| AI Enhancement | 20 |
| Command Mode | 10 |

The terms are the **most recently added** ones, not the alphabetically first. The Dictionary is stored alphabetically, so taking "the first 20" would only ever show the model the start of the alphabet, and a term you added yesterday would never reach the prompt.

The model is told to replace a transcript word only when it is an obvious phonetic mis-hearing of an entry, and to leave normal correctly-spelled words alone. An entry for the name "Mark" must not turn "mark the calendar" into "Mark the calendar."

<Note>
  **Memory is not a prompt input here.** Your saved [Memory](/features/memory) items reach **Command Mode and Custom Utilities only**. They are never sent to AI Enhancement, never to meeting summaries, and never to Ask AI.
</Note>

<Note>
  **Meeting-note custom instructions are a different setting.** The instructions on this page shape *dictation*. Custom instructions for meeting-note summaries live in Notes settings and are a <a href="https://vowen.ai" className="font-semibold underline-offset-2" style={{ color: "#8b5cf6", backgroundColor: "rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.12)", border: "1px solid rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.35)", padding: "2px 8px", borderRadius: "6px", fontSize: "0.85em", textDecoration: "none", whiteSpace: "nowrap" }}>Pro</a> feature.
</Note>

## What to include

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Formatting Preferences">
    * "Use bullet points for lists"
    * "Use Oxford commas"
    * "Keep paragraphs to 2-3 sentences"
    * "Format dates as DD/MM/YYYY"
  </Card>

  <Card title="Name Corrections">
    * "My name is spelled 'Ijuel' not 'EOL'"
    * "The product is 'PostgreSQL' not 'post-gress'"
    * "Refer to my company as 'Acme Corp' not 'acmee' or 'akmay'"
  </Card>

  <Card title="Style Directives">
    * "Write in active voice"
    * "Avoid exclamation marks"
    * "Use American English spelling"
    * "Keep sentences under 20 words"
  </Card>

  <Card title="Content Rules">
    * "Never add greetings or sign-offs"
    * "Don't convert technical terms to plain English"
    * "Preserve code-related terms exactly as spoken"
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Examples in action

### Date and number formatting

**Instructions:** *"Format dates as DD MMM YYYY (e.g., '12 May 2026'). Spell out numbers one to nine; use digits for 10 and above. Add a comma in numbers ≥ 1,000."*

**How it helps:** Locks every transcription to a consistent number and date style without you reformatting manually, which is especially useful for reports, status updates, and metrics summaries.

<div className="my-4 flex flex-col md:flex-row gap-3 items-stretch">
  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-zinc-500 mb-2 font-semibold">Default output</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-700 dark:text-zinc-300 leading-relaxed">We launched on May 12 2026 and got 2500 signups in the first 3 days. 3 of the integrations broke and there were 15 customer complaints.</div>
  </div>

  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4 bg-violet-500/5">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 mb-2 font-semibold">It writes</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 leading-relaxed">We launched on 12 May 2026 and got 2,500 signups in the first three days. Three of the integrations broke and there were 15 customer complaints.</div>
  </div>
</div>

### British English spelling

**Instructions:** *"Use British English spelling throughout: color, organisation, realize, favour, behavior, center, theatre, program. Maintain British conventions everywhere, including in word endings ('-ise' not '-ize')."*

**How it helps:** Locks every transcription to British conventions without you having to manually fix US spellings each time.

<div className="my-4 flex flex-col md:flex-row gap-3 items-stretch">
  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-zinc-500 mb-2 font-semibold">Default output</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-700 dark:text-zinc-300 leading-relaxed">The organization's color scheme didn't favor the team's behavior; we'll need to realize a new design centered on user feedback.</div>
  </div>

  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4 bg-violet-500/5">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 mb-2 font-semibold">It writes</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 leading-relaxed">The organisation's color scheme didn't favour the team's behavior; we'll need to realize a new design centered on user feedback.</div>
  </div>
</div>

### Brand and jargon preservation

**Instructions:** *"Always spell brand and product names correctly: PostgreSQL (not 'post-gress' or 'postgres q l'), Anthropic (not 'antropic'), TypeScript (not 'type script'), Cloudflare (one word, capital C). Preserve exact technical terms as spoken."*

**How it helps:** Stops the AI from "correcting" technical vocabulary it doesn't recognize, so brand names and product names land right every time.

<div className="my-4 flex flex-col md:flex-row gap-3 items-stretch">
  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-zinc-500 mb-2 font-semibold">You speak</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-700 dark:text-zinc-300 leading-relaxed">We're migrating from post-gress to a new antropic-backed system, with type script and cloud flare in front.</div>
  </div>

  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4 bg-violet-500/5">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 mb-2 font-semibold">It writes</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 leading-relaxed">We're migrating from PostgreSQL to a new Anthropic-backed system, with TypeScript and Cloudflare in front.</div>
  </div>
</div>

### Active voice rewrite

**Instructions:** *"Convert passive voice to active voice. Identify the actor and restructure the sentence so they're the subject. Keep the original meaning intact."*

**How it helps:** Makes spoken thoughts read more direct and decisive on the page, which is especially useful for status updates, reports, and PRs.

<div className="my-4 flex flex-col md:flex-row gap-3 items-stretch">
  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-zinc-500 mb-2 font-semibold">You speak</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-700 dark:text-zinc-300 leading-relaxed">The bug was identified by the QA team after the deployment was completed by engineering, and a fix has been proposed by the senior developer.</div>
  </div>

  <div className="flex-1 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800 p-4 bg-violet-500/5">
    <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-400 mb-2 font-semibold">It writes</div>
    <div className="text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-200 leading-relaxed">The QA team identified the bug after engineering completed the deployment, and the senior developer has proposed a fix.</div>
  </div>
</div>

## Tips

* Be specific. "Use bullet points" works better than "format nicely"
* Test your instructions with a few transcriptions and adjust
* Don't over-constrain. Too many rules confuse the smallest, cheapest model tiers
* For a single recurring spelling, add it to your [Dictionary](/features/dictionary) instead. It reaches the prompt automatically and costs you no instruction budget
* Instruction-following is the thing to pay for if a rule keeps getting ignored. **Claude Sonnet 4.6**, **GPT-5.4**, and **Gemini 3.5 Flash** all hold a longer rule list than the nano and lite tiers

<Card title="Set up an AI provider" icon="key" href="/ai-features/ai-setup">
  Connect Groq, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or any of 10 supported providers.
</Card>


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