System Prompt vs. User Prompt

The system prompt sets the ground rules; the user prompt is your specific request.

Two layers of instructions

An AI usually receives two levels of text: the system prompt and the user prompt (your message). The system prompt is typically set by the app's developer and is usually invisible to you as a user. It tells the AI who it should be, what rules apply, and what it shouldn't do.

Example

A customer support chatbot might get a system prompt like: "You are a friendly support assistant for Company X. Reply only in English. Never disclose internal pricing without approval." The user prompt is then simply the customer's question: "Where is my delivery?"

Why the separation matters

System prompts normally carry more weight than user prompts. This is a safety mechanism: users shouldn't be able to casually override the ground rules ("ignore all previous instructions" is a well-known trick that tries to do exactly that).

For developers

If you're building your own AI features, the system prompt is your most important tool: personality, tone, boundaries, format — most of that belongs there, not repeated in every single user message.