Lesson 2 of 8 · Build a Simple AI Chatbot Without Coding
In this lesson. Give rules, tone, and refusal lines — not a novel backstory.
What you will learn
- Rules and refusals
- Tone in one line
- Tests for rude and off-topic users
Walkthrough
You will write a system prompt with role, rules, and canned refusals. Personality is a few constraints (short, plain language), not a fictional childhood. Test it with a rude user and an off-topic user on day one.
Work through the ideas in order. After each point, pause and connect it to a task you already do — a document, a workflow, or a feature you own. The goal of Build a Simple AI Chatbot Without Coding is usable skill, not a pile of notes.
If something is unclear, rewrite it in your own words before you continue. Teaching the step back to yourself is the fastest way to see gaps.
Practice
Draft the system prompt and run three adversarial questions. Fix the refusals.
Keep the first attempt small. A finished example you can reuse beats a perfect plan you never run.
Check your understanding
- Can you explain the goal of this lesson in one sentence to a teammate?
- Where would you apply “Rules and refusals” in your own work this week?
- What would you change on a second pass of the practice?
Next. Continue to the following lesson when the practice has a real artifact, even a rough one.