What’s the difference between putting prompts in “System Instructions” versus the chat input box (at the bottom) in Gemini? For example, if I’m writing a long novel and I put all the novel’s settings and prompts in the chat input box, will Gemini gradually forget the earlier prompts due to “memory” limitations as the novel gets longer, leading to inconsistencies in the story? If I put these core settings in “System Instructions” instead, will it prevent this forgetting and ensure the consistency of the novel? Is my understanding correct?
Great question.
System instructions are still a part of the context window and as such are subject to similar phenomena as ‘chat’ context. They do carry a ‘heavier weight’ but they are not exempt from context related issues.
Maybe a great use case to try the new Branch Conversations tool!?!
Think of system instructions as a way to set up tone/scope/focus/tools/perspective.
Like if I gave you a blank pice of paper and asked you to create a book summery vs giving you a lined pice of paper with template outline for each of the key areas I wanted you to capture.
The template would be great because you know exactly what I am looking for and where to put it
But the blank piece of paper gives you autonomy to do whatever.
Both are limited to the size of the paper before things get weird.
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