Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
The setting is Instructions for Gemini, found under Personal Intelligence in Gemini’s settings. It lets you write standing preferences, such as “start with a short summary” or “use bullet points for long explanations,” so Gemini applies them without being asked each time. It changes how Gemini answers. Google’s documentation doesn’t claim it makes answers more accurate, so “better” here means better fitted to how you read and work.
Where to find Instructions for Gemini
On an eligible personal Google Account, open Gemini settings and choose Personal Intelligence → Instructions for Gemini. Add an instruction and submit it. You can later view, edit, delete, or turn instructions off and on. In the mobile app the route starts from the menu or profile area. On the web it starts from Settings & help. Menus change, so check Google’s current page, Customize Gemini’s responses with your instructions, if yours looks different.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Older articles may call this “Saved Info” or “Personal context.” Those names are outdated, so don’t rely on the old paths.
What to put in it
Write instructions about format and your preferences. Google’s own examples are asking for a short summary first and using bullets to break up long paragraphs. Good instructions are short, specific, and about style:
#1 Best Overall
- Open every answer with a one- or two-sentence summary, then give detail.
- Use bullets or numbered steps for multi-step explanations.
- State your background or the level of detail you want.
These are Google’s kinds of examples, not tested recipes. No wording guarantees accuracy, and Google published no figure measuring answer-quality gains. Still check facts, numbers, and sources yourself.
Instructions, past-chat memory, and connected apps are different
Personal Intelligence bundles several controls that are easy to confuse. Gemini may draw on any of them when it judges them useful (Google’s overview).
| Control | What Gemini uses | Notable requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Instructions for Gemini | Preferences you write explicitly | Personal Google Account only; not for work, school, or supervised accounts |
| Past-chat memory | Your earlier Gemini conversations | Age 18+, personal account, Keep Activity on; can be toggled off |
| Connected apps | Information from apps you link | Optional; you manage which apps are connected |
Instructions are the most predictable of the three because you wrote them. Memory and connected apps depend on what Gemini retrieves.
Who can use it
Google’s help page lists the Gemini mobile and web apps, Gemini in Chrome where available, and smartwatch access. Some features, including Gems, are excluded. Work, school, and supervised accounts can’t use it.
Availability of the wider personalization features varies by region and date. Google’s current Personal Intelligence page describes an eligible-user beta that excludes the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria, and requires age 18+ and a personal account. On February 26, 2026, Michael Siliski, Senior Director of Product Management for the Gemini app, wrote in a Google Canada post that the past-chat setting was starting to roll out to all users in Canada, on by default. Check your own settings rather than assuming.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What it can’t do reliably
Google’s help states: “Instructions for Gemini to forget or avoid topics in chats doesn’t always work perfectly.” If you want Gemini to stop mentioning a subject, delete the related chats from Gemini Apps Activity.
Memory has similar limits. Google says, “While Gemini continues to improve, it might not always get it right.” The past-chat help page explains how to review and delete chats and correct Gemini directly. For information that came from a connected app, you may need to delete the relevant chats and disconnect the app.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsQuick Recap
Best Value
Privacy controls to know
- Temporary Chat: in its August 13, 2025 announcement, Google said these chats don’t appear in recent chats or Gemini Apps Activity, aren’t used to personalize Gemini or train Google’s models, and are kept up to 72 hours to respond and process feedback. That is a dated description, so confirm it in the app’s current privacy information.
- Auto-delete: Google’s Safety Center says Gemini activity auto-deletes after 18 months by default. You can change the period or turn it off. This is separate from whether your instructions are enabled.
- Verification: Google says Gemini tries to reference or explain the connected information it used, so you can check it.
A sensible way to try it
- Open Personal Intelligence → Instructions for Gemini and add one or two format preferences.
- Ask a question you’ve asked before and compare the layout.
- Edit or delete anything that backfires. Instructions that are too broad can make short answers needlessly structured.
- Keep sensitive details out of instructions, and use Temporary Chat for one-off private questions.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
