Out of the box, Gemini sounds like everyone. Polished, generic, that flat press-release voice. This fixes it in one sitting. You answer nine questions about your business and how you talk, Gemini bakes it in, and every chat from then on starts already sounding like you.
About fifteen minutes. No brand guide, no homework.
This is the Gemini walkthrough. If you have not seen the full picture yet, start with the hub, how to make your AI sound like you, where the worksheet and the thinking behind the nine questions live. Already have your answers ready? Stay here.
Ada, my AI assistant, shaped the prompts for this guide. Human-led. AI-leveraged.
What makes Gemini different
Gemini keeps your voice in a field called Instructions for Gemini, which sits under Personal Intelligence in Settings. It used to be called Saved info. The interview produces one block and you paste it in as a single entry. Google moves this area around and renames it, so if the labels on your screen do not match word for word, look for the setting that stores standing instructions about you.
Before you start
Three things. Gemini open in your browser at gemini.google.com. A personal Google account, for the reason above. And about fifteen minutes of quiet.
Step 1. Open a new chat
Go to gemini.google.com and log in. Click New chat in the top-left corner.
Step 2. Paste this prompt and hit send
Copy the whole box, paste it into the chat, send it. Gemini starts asking questions.
I want to set up your Instructions for Gemini so you always sound like me and my business. I do not have anything prepared. Interview me to get what you need. Ask me ONE question at a time and wait for my answer before the next one. Keep each question short and plain. No jargon. If an answer is thin, ask one quick follow-up, then move on. Cover these, in order: 1. My business in one sentence (what I do, for whom) 2. My audience (who I talk to, one or two types) 3. Where I work (my town or region, or whether I work Australia-wide or online) 4. My tone in five words 5. Five things I ALWAYS sound like 6. Five things I NEVER sound like 7. Off limits. Topics or angles I never write about 8. My content pillars (the three or four things I post about) 9. Channel notes (anything per channel, for example LinkedIn longer, Insta shorter) When you have all nine answers, stop interviewing and write me ONE consolidated block I can paste straight into the Instructions for Gemini field. Use my exact words. Do not soften my voice. Do not paraphrase. Format it with these labelled headings, in this order: ABOUT ME AND MY BUSINESS / MY AUDIENCE / WHERE I WORK / MY TONE / ALWAYS sound like this / NEVER sound like this / OFF LIMITS / MY CONTENT PILLARS / CHANNEL NOTES Put the whole thing in a copy box so I can grab it in one go. After the block, in one line, tell me it is ready to paste into Settings.
Step 3. Answer the questions
Gemini asks one at a time. Answer in your own words, short is fine. If you filled in the worksheet from the hub, read your answers straight across. When you have answered all nine, Gemini writes you one block ready to paste. Leave the chat open.
Step 4. Open Instructions for Gemini
At the bottom of the left rail, click Settings and help. Go to Personal Intelligence, then Instructions for Gemini. The page that opens is headed Your instructions for Gemini.
You can also go straight there: gemini.google.com/saved-info, which is the old name surviving in the URL. One catch if you are signed into more than one Google account in the same browser. That link opens whichever account is your default, so if your work account is the default it will bounce you and you will see nothing. Switch account first, or add the account number to the address, as in gemini.google.com/u/1/saved-info.
Step 5. Switch it on and paste your block
Make sure the toggle at the top right of the page is on. Click Add. A box opens asking what you want Gemini to remember. Paste the whole block Gemini wrote you, everything from ABOUT ME AND MY BUSINESS through to the end of CHANNEL NOTES, as one entry.
Step 6. Submit
Click Submit. It stays greyed out until there is text in the box, so if it looks dead you have probably pasted into the wrong place. Check your block then appears in the list before you close Settings. Worth knowing: Gems do not read these instructions, so any Gem you build still needs its own brief.
Step 7. Test it
Open a new chat and run the test prompt:
It should sound like you, not generic AI.
Before, generic Gemini: “Delighted to share some exciting news! We’re absolutely thrilled to announce a fantastic new partnership...”
After, your Gemini: “Signed a new client this week. Here’s the one thing that got them over the line, and it wasn’t the pitch deck...”
If something does not work
- It asked everything at once. Reply with: ask me one question at a time and wait for my answer. It resets.
- The output sounds nothing like me. Your answers were probably too broad. Make your saved block more specific. Add real words you use and real words you would never use.
- I cannot find Instructions for Gemini. Check which account you are signed in as. Google does not offer this on work, school or supervised accounts, and there is no admin setting that turns it on, so chasing your IT team will not get you there. Gemini in Workspace has its own separate personalisation, which does not sync with this one and is currently limited to the United States. For Australian businesses on Workspace, the practical answer today is to do this on a personal Google account.
- Output is too long or too formal. Add to your block: keep responses short, two paragraphs maximum unless I ask for more, plain Australian English, no corporate jargon.
- It uses words I hate. Add a banned-words line: never use these words, then your list.
Questions people ask
Is personalising Gemini free?
Yes. Instructions for Gemini works on a personal Google account at no cost.
Can I do this on my work Google account?
No. Google states the feature is not available on work, school or supervised accounts, and it is not something an admin can switch on. Gemini in Workspace has its own separate personalisation, which does not sync with this one and is currently limited to the United States. For Australian businesses on Workspace, do this on a personal Google account.
I cannot find Instructions for Gemini, where is it?
Under Settings and help, then Personal Intelligence, then Instructions for Gemini. It was previously called Saved info, and Google renames and moves this area from time to time, so look for the setting that stores standing instructions about you.
Will this change my old chats?
No. Your instructions apply to new chats you start. Existing conversations carry on as they were.
Do my instructions apply inside Gems?
No. Google excludes Gems from this feature, so a Gem you build still needs its own brief.
Want the bigger picture?
Where does your whole business sit with AI?
Your voice is one tool doing one job well. To see where your whole business sits with AI, take the free AI Readiness check. Eight questions, two minutes, three pillar scores, one thing to do on Monday morning.
Take the free AI Readiness check →Tracy Sheen CSP is the author of AI & U: Reimagine Business and The End of Technophobia, 2021 Business Book of the Year. Human-led. AI-leveraged. The Augmented Workforce.
Ada, my AI assistant, shaped the prompts and structure for this article.