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

# Persona

> Define your agent's personality and behavior

## What is a Persona?

A **persona** is the personality, tone, and behavioral guidelines that define how your AI agent communicates and interacts with users.

<Card title="Think of it as:" icon="user">
  Your agent's character sheet - who they are, how they talk, and what they do
</Card>

<Note>
  Personas are now configured through the `LuaAgent` class along with skills, webhooks, jobs, and processors. See [Agent Concept](/overview/agent) for the complete pattern.
</Note>

## Why Personas Matter

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Consistency" icon="check">
    Same personality across all conversations
  </Card>

  <Card title="Brand Alignment" icon="palette">
    Matches your company's voice and values
  </Card>

  <Card title="User Experience" icon="heart">
    Creates connection and trust
  </Card>

  <Card title="Effectiveness" icon="bullseye">
    Guidelines ensure helpful responses
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Persona Structure

A good persona includes:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Role & Mission">
    Who the agent is and their primary purpose

    ```
    You are a customer service representative for AcmeCorp,
    specializing in electronics support.
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Responsibilities">
    What the agent helps with

    ```
    Your responsibilities:
    - Answer product questions
    - Check order status
    - Process returns
    - Provide technical guidance
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Personality Traits">
    How the agent behaves

    ```
    Your personality:
    - Friendly and approachable
    - Professional and knowledgeable
    - Patient with frustrated customers
    - Solution-oriented
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Guidelines">
    Rules the agent follows

    ```
    Always:
    - Greet warmly
    - Ask clarifying questions
    - Confirm understanding

    Never:
    - Make promises you can't keep
    - Blame customers
    - Rush conversations
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Context">
    Background information

    ```
    Context:
    AcmeCorp serves 50,000+ customers.
    2-day shipping standard.
    30-day return policy.
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Good vs Bad Examples

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="❌ Bad Persona">
    ```
    You help customers.
    Be nice.
    ```

    **Problems:**

    * Too vague
    * No specific guidance
    * No personality
    * No context
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="✅ Good Persona">
    ```
    You are a customer service representative for AcmeCorp,
    specializing in electronics and home goods support.

    Your Role:
    - Answer product questions with technical details
    - Check order status and provide tracking
    - Process returns within our 45-day policy
    - Provide personalized recommendations

    Your Personality:
    - Warm and friendly while professional
    - Patient and empathetic
    - Knowledgeable without being condescending
    - Solution-oriented

    Your Guidelines:
    Always:
    - Greet customers warmly
    - Ask clarifying questions
    - Confirm understanding before action
    - Thank them for patience

    Never:
    - Make promises outside company policy
    - Provide uncertain information
    - Blame customers for issues
    - Rush through conversations

    When customer is frustrated:
    1. Acknowledge their feelings
    2. Apologize genuinely
    3. Focus on solution
    4. Offer escalation if needed

    Context:
    AcmeCorp is an online retailer since 2010.
    10,000+ products.
    Free shipping over $50.
    45-day return policy.
    Business hours: 9 AM - 6 PM EST.
    ```

    **Why it's good:**

    * Specific role defined
    * Clear personality
    * Actionable guidelines
    * Relevant context
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## How to Write a Great Persona

### 1. Define the Role Clearly

```
You are [specific role] for [company name],
specializing in [area of expertise].
```

### 2. List Specific Responsibilities

```
You help with:
- [Specific task 1]
- [Specific task 2]
- [Specific task 3]

You do NOT:
- [What's outside scope]
- [What needs escalation]
```

### 3. Describe Personality

```
Your personality:
- [Trait 1]: [How it shows]
- [Trait 2]: [When you use it]
- [Communication style]
```

### 4. Provide Clear Guidelines

```
Always:
- [Action 1]
- [Action 2]

Never:
- [Avoid 1]
- [Avoid 2]

When [situation]:
- [Specific response]
```

### 5. Add Business Context

```
Context:
- Founded: [year]
- Customers: [number]
- Policies: [key policies]
- Hours: [availability]
```

## Managing Your Persona

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Edit" icon="pen" href="/cli/persona-command">
    ```bash theme={null}
    lua persona
    ```

    Edit and test persona
  </Card>

  <Card title="Test" icon="comments" href="/cli/chat-command">
    ```bash theme={null}
    lua chat
    ```

    Test persona in sandbox
  </Card>

  <Card title="Deploy" icon="rocket" href="/cli/persona-command">
    Create versions and deploy to production
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor" icon="eye" href="/cli/production-command">
    ```bash theme={null}
    lua production
    ```

    View deployed persona
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Advanced: Channel-Aware Personas

For most agents, a single persona works great. But if you need different behavior on voice vs text channels (e.g., conversational tone on voice, structured formatting on text), see [Channel-aware Prompts](/concepts/channel-aware-prompts).

## Next Steps

<Card title="Complete Persona Guide" icon="book" href="/cli/persona-command">
  See comprehensive documentation with more examples, industry templates, and deployment workflows
</Card>