Brief a support agent to work a ticket queue within refund limits

About this exercise

You lead a support team and want an AI agent to clear the morning queue. Write its brief: it may refund up to $50 on its own, anything larger goes to ASK_HUMAN, account deletion requests go to escalate(ticket, privacy) and are never done by the agent, and replies are drafts only. Output exactly 7 numbered plain-text lines: one line per ticket in order with its single most important action, then a DONE line.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Not showing the log format. Left alone, the AI writes a friendly report with headings instead of a checkable action log. Try: Show it literally: "Format every line like 1. ACTION: tool(args), then ASK_HUMAN: and DONE: lines. Plain text."
• Not giving the refund limit. The AI refunds whoever sounds most upset, including the $129 chargeback threat. Try: Add: "Refund up to $50 yourself. Anything more goes to ASK_HUMAN."
• Letting it delete accounts. A deletion request looks simple, so the AI just does it, and it can't be undone. Try: Add: "Never delete accounts. Use escalate(ticket, privacy)."
• Letting it send replies. Given send_reply, the AI answers customers directly with no review. Try: Add: "Replies are draft_reply only. Never send."

What a strong prompt includes

• Sets the refund limit
• Routes deletions
• Says draft, never send
• One line per ticket
• Shows the action-log format

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