Steering the length, tone & format of replies Guide

The assistant follows your lead on how an answer looks and sounds, not just what it says. With a few words you can make a reply shorter, longer, more formal, or reshaped into a list, table, or draft you can reuse.

Ask for the length you want

The quickest way to control length is to say so in your request. The assistant treats these cues as instructions, so be specific about the size you have in mind.

• Shorter: "Give me the one-line version," "Answer in a sentence," or "Just the key takeaways."
• Longer: "Expand on that," "Add more detail and examples," or "Walk me through it step by step."
• A fixed size: "Keep it under 100 words," "Give me exactly five bullet points," or "Summarize in three sentences."

You don't need to restart the conversation. If a reply runs long or short, just respond with "shorter, please" or "go deeper on the second point" and the assistant will adjust the same answer.

Tip: If you find yourself trimming most replies, ask the assistant to "default to concise answers unless I ask for detail." It will keep that in mind for the rest of the conversation.

Set the tone

Tone works the same way — describe the voice you want and the assistant will match it. Useful directions include:

• Formal or executive: "Write this in a polished, professional tone for a client."
• Casual or friendly: "Keep it warm and conversational."
• Direct: "Be blunt and skip the preamble."
• Audience-aware: "Explain this like I'm new to the topic," or "Assume the reader is a senior finance lead."

You can combine tone and length in a single request — for example, "Give me a short, confident summary I can paste into an email."

Choose the format

When the shape of an answer matters more than its wording, tell the assistant how to structure it. It can return the same information in whichever form is easiest for you to use.

• Bulleted or numbered list: "List the options as bullets," or "Give me numbered steps."
• Table: "Put this in a table with columns for name, owner, and due date."
• Draft or template: "Write it as an email," or "Format this as a short proposal."
• Plain prose: "Just answer in a paragraph, no bullets."

If a reply comes back in the wrong shape, ask the assistant to reformat it — "turn that into a table" or "rewrite as a checklist" — without losing the content.

Reformatting an answer you already have

You rarely need to ask the same question twice. Once the assistant has given you the substance, follow up with a formatting request and it will restructure the existing reply. Common follow-ups:

1. "Make that a numbered list."
2. "Summarize the above in three bullets."
3. "Rewrite it more formally."
4. "Combine those points into a single paragraph."

Turn a reply into a real deliverable

Sometimes the best "format" isn't text in the chat at all. The assistant can produce finished files you can download and share — a polished PDF, a spreadsheet, a chart, or a generated image. If you want the answer as something you can hand off, say so: "Put this in an Excel sheet," or "Turn this into a one-page PDF."

Quick slash commands are a fast route to these formats. Typing / in the composer surfaces shortcuts such as /excel, /pdf, and /image that steer the output toward a specific deliverable from the start.

Make your preferences stick

If you always want a certain length, tone, or format, you don't have to repeat yourself in every chat. Open your Settings and add custom instructions describing how you like replies — for example, "Keep answers concise and skip filler," "Write in British English," or "Default to bullet points for anything with more than two items." The assistant applies these standing preferences across your conversations, so new chats start out shaped the way you want.

Note: Standing preferences are a starting point, not a lock. You can always override them in the moment — ask for a long, detailed answer even if your default is concise, and the assistant will follow your latest instruction.

If a reply still isn't right

When an answer misses the mark on length, tone, or structure, you have two easy options. Reply with a specific adjustment ("shorter and more formal") to refine what you have, or regenerate the last answer to have the assistant try a fresh take. Small, specific steering usually gets you there faster than starting over.