Standing orders: how to make an AI agent write in your brand voice

If AI writing sounds the same everywhere, it is usually because it was given the same instructions everywhere: none. A model with no rules falls back to a safe, polished, forgettable voice. The fix is not a cleverer prompt. It is a short list of rules the agent follows on every single task. We call them standing orders.

What standing orders are

Standing orders are permanent instructions attached to an agent, not to a task. You write them once. The agent reads them before every piece of work, and they win when a task asks for something different. Think of them as the style guide a new hire reads on day one, except the agent actually reads it every time.

They work because they remove decisions the model would otherwise make for you, badly. How long should sentences be? Is humour allowed? Can it use the word "revolutionary"? With no rule, the answer drifts toward the average of the internet.

The test every rule must pass

A good standing order can be checked by someone who has never met you. Read the output, read the rule, and say yes or no. If you cannot, the rule is a wish.

• Wish: Sound friendly.

• Rule: Address the reader as "you". Never use "dear customer", "valued user" or similar.

• Wish: Be concise.

• Rule: Keep sentences under 20 words. One idea per paragraph. No paragraph longer than three sentences.

Ten standing orders you can adapt

1. Write the way you would explain it to a smart friend across a table. Plain words over impressive ones.
2. Lead with the point. The first sentence says what the reader gets.
3. Use concrete numbers and examples instead of adjectives. "Saves two hours a week" beats "saves lots of time".
4. Never use these words: revolutionary, game changing, seamless, leverage, unlock, cutting edge.
5. No exclamation marks, except in a direct quote.
6. Every piece ends with one clear action for the reader, and only one.
7. Do not promise outcomes we cannot guarantee: results, rankings, delivery dates, income.
8. If a fact is not in your knowledge notes, write [CHECK] instead of guessing.
9. Match the platform: LinkedIn posts under 200 words, emails under 150, X posts under 280 characters.
10. Spell product and company names exactly as in the knowledge notes.

Pick the five that matter most to your brand and start there. A list of thirty rules is followed worse than a list of five.

Show, then tell

Rules describe a voice. Examples demonstrate it. Add one short note to the agent’s knowledge with two or three pieces of writing you love, labelled clearly as examples of tone, not content to copy. The agent will pick up rhythm and word choice that are hard to put into rules.

Add one example of what you do not want, too, with a line on why. "Too salesy: three superlatives in two sentences" teaches more than any adjective.

Common mistakes

• Contradictions. "Be playful" next to "keep it formal" makes the agent split the difference. Decide.
• Rules that only apply sometimes. Put those in the task, not the standing orders.
• Never updating them. Every time you edit an agent’s draft, ask whether the edit could become a rule. That is how the list gets sharp.
• Mixing facts into rules. Prices, features and audience details belong in knowledge notes, where they are easy to update.

Let a second agent enforce them

Even good agents slip. The cheapest safeguard is a reviewer agent whose standing orders say: check the draft against the writer’s standing orders and list every rule it breaks. Disagreements between the two take seconds to settle and catch the drift before it reaches your audience.

Where to start today

Write five rules. Run three real tasks. Edit the drafts and turn each edit into a new rule or a sharper old one. After a week, your agent will write in your voice on the first try more often than not, and you will spend your time choosing what to publish instead of fixing how it sounds.