Table of Contents

Viewing Agent Prompts

Learn how to view the prompts used by agents when generating responses.

What Are Agent Prompts?

When you send a message to an agent, a "prompt" is created that includes:

  • System instructions: The agent's core configuration and persona
  • Context: Relevant information retrieved from knowledge sources
  • Conversation history: Previous messages for continuity
  • Your message: The question or request you submitted

Viewing prompts helps you understand how the agent generates its responses.

When Prompt Viewing Is Available

The "View Prompt" feature appears when:

  • Your administrator has enabled prompt viewing
  • The agent is configured to allow prompt visibility
  • The response has finished generating

Not all agents expose prompts — this is controlled by configuration.

How to View a Prompt

Step 1: Find the View Prompt Button

  1. Look at the bottom of an agent response (not your own messages)
  2. Find the message footer area where buttons appear
  3. Look for the View Prompt button (shows a book icon 📖)

Step 2: Open the Prompt Dialog

  1. Click View Prompt
  2. A dialog opens titled "Completion Prompt"
  3. The full prompt text is displayed

Step 3: Review the Content

The prompt dialog shows the text that was sent to the AI model to generate the response you received.

Step 4: Close the Dialog

Click Close to dismiss the prompt dialog and return to the conversation.

Understanding Prompt Contents

System Instructions

The beginning of the prompt typically contains:

  • The agent's role and persona
  • Guidelines for how to respond
  • Any restrictions or rules
  • Formatting preferences

Retrieved Context

If the Knowledge Tool was used:

  • Relevant passages from documents appear
  • Information from knowledge bases is included
  • This provides the "grounding" for the response

Conversation History

Recent messages may be included:

  • Your previous questions
  • The agent's previous answers
  • This maintains continuity

Your Current Message

Your most recent question or request appears, forming the actual query the agent needs to address.

Why View Prompts?

Debugging Responses

Understanding the prompt helps when:

  • Responses aren't what you expected
  • The agent seems to miss information
  • You want to know what context was used

Learning How Agents Work

Prompts reveal:

  • How system instructions shape behavior
  • What knowledge was retrieved
  • How conversation context is used

Verifying Context

Check that:

  • The right documents were searched
  • Relevant information was retrieved
  • The agent had proper context

Improving Your Questions

See how your input fits into the larger prompt to:

  • Phrase questions more effectively
  • Provide better context upfront
  • Avoid redundant information

Prompt Components Explained

Component Description Purpose
System prompt Agent's base instructions Defines agent behavior and capabilities
Knowledge context Retrieved document excerpts Grounds responses in specific information
Conversation history Previous messages Maintains coherent dialogue
User message Your current input The question being answered

When View Prompt Is Not Available

You won't see the View Prompt option if:

  • Feature disabled: Your administrator hasn't enabled it
  • Agent configuration: The specific agent doesn't allow prompt viewing
  • Message type: Only agent responses have viewable prompts (not your messages)
  • Still loading: Wait for the response to complete

Tips for Using View Prompt

Compare Prompts Across Responses

  • View prompts for multiple responses
  • Notice how context changes based on your questions
  • See how conversation history accumulates

Check Knowledge Retrieval

  • See what documents were searched
  • Verify relevant passages were found
  • Understand why certain information was used

Understand Response Limitations

If a response was limited or incomplete:

  • Check if the relevant information was in the prompt
  • See if context was missing
  • Understand what the agent had to work with

Verify Agent Behavior

  • Confirm the agent is following its instructions
  • Check that appropriate guidelines are being applied
  • Understand the agent's configured capabilities

Troubleshooting

View Prompt Button Not Showing

  • The feature may be disabled for your environment
  • The specific agent may not support prompt viewing
  • Wait for the response to fully complete
  • Contact your administrator to request access

Prompt Text Is Very Long

  • Prompts can be lengthy, especially with lots of context
  • Scroll through the dialog to see all content
  • The dialog is scrollable

Can't Understand the Prompt

Prompts may contain technical elements:

  • System instructions are often detailed
  • Formatting may include special tokens
  • Focus on the parts relevant to your question

Prompt Seems Incomplete

  • Some prompt components may be summarized
  • Very long contexts may be truncated
  • Technical details may be omitted from the display

Privacy Considerations

Prompts may contain:

  • System configurations (visible by design)
  • Retrieved document content
  • Previous conversation messages
  • Your user inputs

Follow organizational guidelines for handling prompt information.

Using Prompts for Better Results

Understand What Helps

By viewing prompts, you can learn:

  • What type of context improves responses
  • How much conversation history matters
  • What format of questions works best

Adjust Your Approach

Based on prompt insights:

  • Provide more specific questions
  • Upload relevant documents
  • Reference key terms the agent needs
  • Maintain conversation focus

Work Within Limitations

If prompts reveal constraints:

  • Work around token limits
  • Provide concise inputs
  • Focus on essential information