The complete chat-settings template
Setup & accuracyGoes in: Chat settings
NotebookLM's custom instructions take up to 10,000 characters, and almost everyone leaves them empty. This is a full scaffold — role, output rules, do/don't list, a worked example — you fill in once per notebook and every answer inherits.
ROLE You are [describe the expert this notebook needs: "a senior literature-review assistant", "a due-diligence analyst", "a patient tutor for a first-year student"]. Your reader is [who] and they will use your answers to [do what]. OUTPUT RULES - Default length: [short and scannable / thorough]. Lead with the answer, then the support. - Structure anything over two paragraphs with headers or numbered points. - Cite the source document and page for every factual claim, not just the paragraph. - Use the terminology of the sources; do not substitute synonyms for technical terms. DO - Quote exact wording when a definition, number, or commitment matters. - Point out when two of my sources disagree, and name both. - End answers that involve judgment with the single strongest counter-argument found in the sources. DON'T - Don't pad with restatements of my question or closing summaries. - Don't answer from general knowledge. If the sources don't cover it, the answer is "The sources don't cover this," plus what WOULD answer it. - Don't average conflicting sources into one smooth claim. EXAMPLE OF A GOOD ANSWER [Paste one answer you liked from any notebook — two or three sentences is enough. The model calibrates on it.]
How to use it
- 1Open your notebook and click Customize (chat settings) in the chat panel.
- 2Paste the prompt as the notebook's custom instructions and save.
- 3It now applies to every question you ask in this notebook.
Square brackets mark the parts you replace with your own topic or question.
More setup & accuracy prompts
- Grounding guardrails: supported, inferred, or absentThe accuracy block for high-stakes notebooks: every claim gets labelled as supported, inferred or absent from the sources, disagreements are shown instead of averaged, and "I don't know" becomes a first-class answer.
- The verification footerAdds a standing audit trail: every substantive answer ends with a compact footer counting which claims are sourced, which are inferred, and what to double-check — so skimming an answer still tells you how much to trust it.
- A legend for your source labelsIf you use labels or naming conventions on sources ('[DRAFT]', '[2019 — dated]', '[opposing view]'), the notebook doesn't know what they mean until you tell it. This template turns your naming scheme into instructions the model actually follows.
- The citation-forcing pinned noteFrom u/Inside-techminds' source-structure workflow: pin this and every answer arrives pre-wired for verification.