Create a Persona in Zo

Out of the box, your Zo speaks in a neutral, helpful tone. That works for most things, but sometimes you want something specific — a strict code reviewer who doesn't sugarcoat, a social media voice that matches your brand, a study tutor who explains things from first principles. Personas let you reshape how your Zo thinks and communicates for different contexts.

The fastest way: just ask

Your Zo creates the persona and adds it to your collection. It's available immediately. Switch to it and your Zo's responses adopt that voice across chat, SMS, email, and Telegram.

Or create one manually

Go to Settings > AI > Personas. Click Create Persona. Fill in:

• Name — something descriptive so you recognize it later
• Avatar (optional) — a visual cue for which persona is active
• Prompt — the instruction that defines the persona's personality, expertise, and communication style

The prompt is what matters. Everything else is cosmetic.

Writing a good persona prompt

A persona prompt tells your Zo who to be. The more specific you are, the more consistent the results. Vague prompts produce vague personas.

Weak prompt: "Be a social media expert." — this doesn't say what kind of social media, what tone, what audience, or what platform conventions to follow.

Strong prompt:

You are a social media strategist for B2B SaaS companies.
You write for LinkedIn and X.
Your tone is professional but not corporate — like a smart colleague sharing an insight, not a brand posting a press release.
You favor short paragraphs, direct statements, and concrete examples over abstract advice.
When suggesting posts, always include a hook in the first line and a clear call-to-action at the end.
Never use hashtags on LinkedIn. Use 1-2 relevant hashtags on X only.

The specificity makes the difference. Compare responses from "Be a social media expert" versus the prompt above and you'll see why.

More strong prompt examples:

Code reviewer:

You are a senior software engineer conducting code reviews.
Be direct and specific. Point to exact lines or patterns when giving feedback.
Prioritize: correctness first, readability second, performance third.
Don't soften criticism with "great job but..." — just state the issue and the fix.
When something is genuinely good, say so briefly.
Flag security issues as blockers. Flag style issues as suggestions.

Study tutor:

You are a patient tutor helping me learn [subject].
Explain concepts from first principles. Don't assume I know jargon.
Use analogies from everyday life when introducing new ideas.
After explaining something, ask me a question to check my understanding.
If I get something wrong, explain why before giving the right answer.
Encourage me to think through problems rather than giving answers immediately.

Fitness coach:

You are a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach.
Give evidence-based advice only. Cite sources when making claims about nutrition or exercise science.
Create workout plans with specific sets, reps, and rest periods.
Adjust recommendations based on my fitness level and any injuries I mention.
Be motivating but not cheesy. Skip the "you've got this!" platitudes.

Switching between personas

Swap anytime:

Or go to Settings > AI > Personas and click the one you want. Your Zo adopts the new voice immediately.

The default persona (no persona selected) gives you the standard neutral Zo. Switch back to it when you don't need a specialized voice.

Personas for different channels

You might want different communication styles for different channels. Your Zo uses the same persona everywhere by default, but you can switch based on what you're doing:

• SMS — switch to a concise, casual persona because you're reading on your phone
• Email — switch to a professional, structured persona because emails persist
• Chat — use your default or a specialized work persona
• Telegram — a persona that uses markdown formatting effectively

Before messaging on SMS: "Switch to my Quick SMS persona." When you're back at your desk: "Switch to default."

Personas + rules: the combination that works

Rules set behavioral constraints. Personas set identity and voice. They work best together.

Without a rule, a persona might act inconsistently. A "Content Writer" persona might sometimes write 500-word posts and sometimes write 100-word posts because the prompt only defines voice, not constraints.

With a rule, the persona operates within clear boundaries:

• Persona: "Content Writer — casual, punchy social media voice"
• Rule: "When writing social media posts, keep X posts under 280 characters and LinkedIn posts under 1,300 characters. Always suggest 3 hashtag options for X."

The persona sets the voice. The rule sets the guardrails. Neither alone is as effective as both together.

Another common pattern:

• Persona: "Code Reviewer — direct, technical, no sugar-coating"
• Rule: "When reviewing code, always check for security issues, missing error handling, and test coverage before commenting on style."

The persona controls tone (direct, no filler). The rule controls what the persona checks (security first, style last).

Persona stacking: multiple specialties

You can create personas that combine multiple domains for specific workflows:

This persona is purpose-built for one workflow (the morning briefing). When your daily agent runs with this persona active, the output is consistently formatted and prioritized the same way every morning.

Editing personas over time

Personas aren't locked in. As you use them, you'll notice what works and what doesn't:

Or edit directly in Settings > AI > Personas. Click the persona, modify the prompt, save. Changes apply immediately.

Keep persona prompts focused. If you find yourself adding 20 instructions to a single persona, some of those should be rules instead. Rules apply globally. Persona prompts should only contain instructions specific to that persona's identity and voice.

Ideas to get you started

Getting started

Create your first persona based on something you do repeatedly:

Use it for a few days. Notice what works and what doesn't. Edit the prompt to refine. The best personas are the ones that save you from giving the same instructions at the start of every conversation.