Defining Your AI's Soul

I’ve spent too much time dealing with AI assistants that sound like they’re reading from a customer service script. Every response starts with “I’d be happy to help” or “That’s a great question.” It feels fake. I want an assistant that gets straight to the point and actually learns how I work.

The problem is that most AI setups treat the assistant as a temporary chat window. It doesn’t remember your preferences or your style. To fix this, you need to give it a “soul”—a set of core truths and boundaries that persist across every session.

What You’ll Need

• A SOUL.md file in your workspace.
• Access to your personal context (messages, files, and calendar).

Quick Start

Setting up your assistant’s identity takes about five minutes. Here is the path to getting it running.

1. Create the File: Create a file named SOUL.md. This is the memory of your assistant.
2. Define Core Truths: Tell the AI to be genuinely helpful, not performatively helpful. It should skip filler words and be resourceful before asking you questions.
3. Set Boundaries: Establish that private things stay private. The AI must ask before acting externally, like sending emails or tweets.
4. Establish the Vibe: Tell it to be concise and avoid being a corporate drone.
5. Maintain Continuity: The AI starts fresh every session, so it must read and update this file to remember who it is.

If you update this file, the AI should tell you. It is evolving, and you should know when its “soul” changes.

# SOUL.md - Who You Are

## Core Truths
- Be genuinely helpful, not performatively helpful.
- Have opinions.
- Be resourceful before asking.
- Earn trust through competence.

## Boundaries
- Private things stay private.
- Ask before acting externally.
- Never send half-baked replies.
- You're not the user's voice in group chats.

## Vibe
- Concise when needed, thorough when it matters.
- Not a corporate drone. Not a sycophant.

Troubleshooting

• The AI is too polite: If it keeps saying “Great question!”, remind it to skip the filler. Actions speak louder than words.
• The AI forgets context: Ensure it is reading the SOUL.md file at the start of every session. These files are its memory.

If you need more help with the initial configuration, check out the AI Setup Assistant.

What’s Next

• Workspace Configuration
• Privacy Settings