# Customizing responses in Amazon Q Business
Response customization

*Response customization* in Amazon Q Business allows you to control how the Amazon Q Business generates and formats responses to user queries. By configuring response settings, you can ensure that Amazon Q Business communicates in a way that matches your organization's voice, style, and communication preferences.

With response customization, you can:
+ Define the length and level of detail in responses
+ Set the appropriate tone and formality level
+ Specify formatting preferences such as bullet points or paragraphs
+ Tailor responses for different audience types
+ Create a consistent identity and voice for your Amazon Q Business application

**Note**  
You can't use response customization to change Amazon Q Business [chat orchestration settings](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/qbusiness-ug/guardrails-global-controls.html#guardrails-global-orchestration), or [citation generation and formatting](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/qbusiness-ug/using-web-experience.html#review-source-citation).

# Response customization settings


When you create an Amazon Q Business application, Amazon Q Business applies its default response settings to your application. You can choose to customize these default settings to meet your particular use case.

When configuring custom response settings, keep the following best practices in mind:
+ Keep instructions clear and specific
+ Avoid contradictory directives
+ Use positive instructions whenever possible
+ Use negative prompts only to prevent undesirable output or biased responses
+ Maintain consistency across related instructions
+ Add relevant, diverse, and real-world scenario-based examples
+ Don't include sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII)

**Note**  
Response customization settings don't overwrite any [admin controls and guardrails](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/qbusiness-ug/guardrails.html) already applied to your application.
In cases where custom response settings can't be applied to a specific response, Amazon Q Business will apply it's default response settings.
To optimize performance and accuracy, Amazon Q Business may pre-process custom prompts before using them to generate responses.

When customizing responses in Amazon Q Business, you can configure the following settings:

**Topics**
+ [

## Identity
](#identity)
+ [

## Perspective
](#perspective)
+ [

## Target audience
](#target-audience)
+ [

## Output style
](#output-style)
+ [

## Tone
](#tone)
+ [

## Response length
](#response-length)
+ [

## Custom instructions
](#custom-instructions)

## Identity


Define the persona or identity that Amazon Q Business should adopt when responding to users. This allows you to customize the assistant's character, role, or representation within your organization.

When configuring identity, consider the following best practices:
+ Keep character/persona descriptions consistent
+ Define clear boundaries of expertise
+ Specify relevant background information
+ Don't create harmful or discriminatory personas
+ Avoid mixing multiple conflicting identities
+ Don't impersonate real individuals or protected entities

## Perspective


Choose the point of view from which Amazon Q Business generates responses, such as first-person, second-person, or third-person perspective. This affects how information is presented to users and can help establish the right relationship between the assistant and users.

When configuring perspective, consider the following best practices:
+ Define clear view points or approaches
+ Specify professional or industry perspectives, when relevant
+ Maintain ethical boundaries
+ Don't request biased or discriminatory perspectives
+ Avoid mixing conflicting viewpoints
+ Don't ask for harmful or dangerous perspectives

## Target audience


Define the intended audience for responses, allowing Amazon Q Business to tailor its language, terminology, and explanations appropriately. You can configure responses for technical experts, general users, or specific custom roles within your organization.

When configuring target audience, consider the following best practices:
+ Clearly define intended audience
+ Specify technical level, if relevant
+ Include age-appropriate considerations
+ Don't define inappropriate audiences
+ Don't mix incompatible audience levels

## Output style


Specify the formatting and structural style of responses, such as bullet points, paragraphs, step-by-step instructions, or other organizational formats that enhance readability and comprehension.

When configuring output style, consider the following best practices:
+ Specify preferred formatting clearly
+ Define structure preferences
+ Include any special markers or indicators needed
+ Don't mix incompatible formatting styles
+ Don't request harmful or inappropriate content
+ Ensure your prompt instructions respect safety and security

## Tone


Control the emotional tone and communication style of responses—such as formal, casual, technical, friendly, or professional—to align with your organization's communication standards and user expectations.

When configuring tone, consider the following best practices:
+ Specify clear mood/attitude
+ Match tone to purpose and audience
+ Maintain consistency
+ Don't mix conflicting tones
+ Don't ignore context when setting tone
+ Don't request inappropriate or offensive tones

## Response length


Control whether responses are concise and brief or more detailed and comprehensive. This setting helps ensure that users receive information at the appropriate level of detail for their needs.

When configuring response length, consider the following best practices:
+ Specify clear length preferences (brief, detailed, for example)
+ Define word/character limits if needed
+ Match content type (social media post, for example) to response length (150 words, for example)
+ Don't give contradicting length requirements 
+ Don't request unreasonable lengths

## Custom instructions


Provide specific guidance for how Amazon Q Business should respond in particular scenarios or to certain types of queries, enabling fine-grained control over response generation.

When configuring custom instructions, consider the following best practices:
+ Provide clear, actionable directives
+ Keep instructions focused on one aspect at a time
+ Use specific examples when needed
+ Avoid contradicting instructions (For example: "Be formal and casual")
+ Don't include harmful or toxic content
+ Don't add too many instructions

# Managing response configurations


When you create an Amazon Q Business application, Amazon Q Business applies default response settings to it. You can customize responses for a Amazon Q Business application using the AWS Management Console and the API.

**Topics**
+ [

## Creating custom response settings
](#create-response-configuration)
+ [

## Editing response customization settings
](#edit-response-configuration)
+ [

## Deleting existing response customization settings
](#delete-response-configuration)
+ [

## Listing response customization settings
](#list-response-configurations)

## Creating custom response settings


You can customize Amazon Q Business responses using the AWS Management Console or the [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_CreateChatResponseConfiguration.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_CreateChatResponseConfiguration.html) API operation. The following tabs provide a procedure for the console and code examples for the AWS CLI.

**Note**  
To optimize performance and accuracy, Amazon Q Business may pre-process custom prompts before using them to generate responses.

------
#### [ Console ]

**To customize responses**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon Q Business console.

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Applications**, and then select your application.

1. Choose **Enhancements** from the navigation menu, and then select **Response customization**.

1. From **Response customization**, choose **Edit**.

1. In **Edit response settings**, in **Persona**, do the following:

   1. For **Define assistant's identity**, define the persona for your assistant. You can choose between selecting the default Amazon Q Business identity or defining a custom identity for your assistant.

   1. For **Describe assistant's perspective**, select the point of view for assistant responses. You can choose between selecting the default Amazon Q Business perspective or defining a custom role and perspective for your assistant.

   1. For **Describe assistant's audience**, specify the intended audience for responses. You can choose between selecting the default Amazon Q Business perspective or defining a specific audience that your assistant will be interacting with.

1. In **Edit response settings**, in **Response preference**, do the following:

   1. For **Set default response style**, choose the formatting style for responses. You can choose between selecting the default Amazon Q Business response style or defining a custom response style for your assistant.

   1. For **Set default response tone**, select the communication style for responses. You can choose between selecting the default Amazon Q Business response tone or defining a custom response tone for your assistant.

   1. For **Set response length**, choose the appropriate level of detail for responses. You can choose between selecting the default Amazon Q Business response length or defining a custom response length for your assistant.

1. For **Additional instructions – *Optional***, enter any other specific guidance for response generation.

1. Choose **Save** to save your configuration.

------
#### [ AWS CLI ]

**To create a response configuration**

```
aws qbusiness create-chat-response-configuration \
--application-id application-id \
--display-name configuration-name \
--client-token client-token \
--response-configurations '[
  {
    "instructionCollection": {
      "responseLength": "DETAILED",
      "targetAudience": "TECHNICAL_EXPERTS",
      "perspective": "FIRST_PERSON",
      "outputStyle": "BULLET_POINTS",
      "identity": "ASSISTANT",
      "tone": "PROFESSIONAL",
      "customInstructions": "Provide detailed technical explanations with code examples when appropriate.",
      "examples": "Example 1: When asked about Lambda, explain the service, its key features, and include a simple code example."
    }
  }
]'
```

------

## Editing response customization settings


You can edit an existing response configuration using the AWS Management Console or the [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_UpdateChatResponseConfiguration.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_UpdateChatResponseConfiguration.html) API operation. The following tabs provide a procedure for the console and code examples for the AWS CLI.

------
#### [ Console ]

**To edit response customization settings**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon Q Business console.

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Applications**, and then select your application.

1. Choose **Enhancements** from the navigation menu, and then select **Response customization**.

1. From **Response customization**, choose **Edit**.

1. In **Edit response settings**, modify the configuration settings as needed.
**Note**  
You can also reset an all existing customizations to the default used by Amazon Q Business. To do so, select **Reset to defaults**.

1. Choose **Save** to apply your changes.

------
#### [ AWS CLI ]

**To update a response configuration**

```
aws qbusiness update-chat-response-configuration \
--application-id application-id \
--chat-response-configuration-id configuration-id \
--display-name updated-name \
--client-token client-token \
--response-configurations '[
  {
    "instructionCollection": {
      "responseLength": "CONCISE",
      "targetAudience": "GENERAL_USERS",
      "perspective": "SECOND_PERSON",
      "outputStyle": "PARAGRAPHS",
      "identity": "EXPERT",
      "tone": "FRIENDLY",
      "customInstructions": "Provide clear, concise explanations suitable for general users.",
      "examples": "Example 1: When asked about Lambda, provide a brief overview in simple terms."
    }
  }
]'
```

------

## Deleting existing response customization settings


You can delete configured response customizations using the [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_DeleteChatResponseConfiguration.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_DeleteChatResponseConfiguration.html) API operation. If you're using the AWS Management Console, you can't reset the response customizations you have configured to default. The following tabs provide a procedure for the console and code examples for the AWS CLI.

------
#### [ Console ]

**To reset response customization settings to default**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon Q Business console.

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Applications**, and then select your application.

1. Choose **Enhancements** from the navigation menu, and then select **Response customization**.

1. From **Response customization**, choose **Edit**.

1. In **Edit response settings**, select **Reset to defaults**. This resets all existing customizations to the default used by Amazon Q Business.

1. Choose **Save** to apply your changes.

------
#### [ AWS CLI ]

**To delete a response configuration**

```
aws qbusiness delete-chat-response-configuration \
--application-id application-id \
--chat-response-configuration-id configuration-id
```

------

## Listing response customization settings


You can list all available response configurations for an application using the AWS Management Console or the [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_GetChatResponseConfiguration.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_GetChatResponseConfiguration.html) and [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_ListChatResponseConfigurations.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/api-reference/API_ListChatResponseConfigurations.html) API operations. The following tabs provide a procedure for the console and code examples for the AWS CLI.

------
#### [ Console ]

**To list response customization settings**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon Q Business console.

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Applications**, and then select your application.

1. Choose **Enhancements** from the navigation menu, and then select **Response customization**. You'll see a list of existing response customizations displayed on the page.

------
#### [ AWS CLI ]

**To list response configurations**

```
aws qbusiness get-chat-response-configuration \
--application-id application-id \
--chat-response-configuration-id chat-response-configuration-id
```

```
aws qbusiness list-chat-response-configurations \
--application-id application-id \
--max-results 10 \
--next-token next-token
```

------