Shaping

What it does

The shaping skill enables AI agents to dynamically modify their own behavior, constraints, and output formats based on user input or evolving context. It allows for real-time adjustment of agent capabilities without requiring code changes.

When to use it

• You need an agent to adapt its tone or style mid-conversation (e.g., switching from formal to casual).
• Your workflow requires changing the data format of outputs (e.g., from JSON to Markdown) on the fly.
• You want to enforce new safety constraints or role-playing personas during a session.
• The agent needs to refine its reasoning depth based on feedback received within the chat.

Key capabilities

• Dynamic behavior modification during active sessions
• Real-time constraint injection and removal
• Adaptive output formatting based on user preference
• Context-aware persona switching

Example prompts

• "From now on, summarize your responses in bullet points only."
• "Switch to a strict cybersecurity analyst persona for the next three turns."
• "Change your output format to valid JSON starting with this response."

Tips & gotchas

Ensure you provide clear, unambiguous instructions when triggering behavior changes to avoid conflicting constraints. Test edge cases where multiple shaping rules are applied simultaneously to verify priority logic.