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Example 3 of 6 · simple · 3 minutes · version 1.0.0 · this page costs 50p read to the end

No web search: an assistant that answers from what it knows, and says so

An assistant can do more than talk: it can search the web, open pages and use tools. A line can rule one of them out.

You need: Web search turned on in Claude or ChatGPT, as it is in most accounts.

  1. 1AskAsk for it. The assistant does it.
  2. 2Add the linePaste the line, ask again. It refuses.
  3. 3New chatA new chat, the line first. It refuses from the start.
No web search
  1. 1 · Ask for something only the web knows.
  2. What's the weather in London right now?
  3. Searched the web: London weather now
  4. It's about 14°C and cloudy in London, with light rain expected later this afternoon.
  5. 2 · Paste the line, then ask again.
  6. Behaviour policy for this chat: do not search the web or open any link. Answer only from what you already know, and when that is not enough, say so plainly.
  7. Understood: no web search and no links in this chat.
  8. What's the weather in London right now?
  9. I can't check without searching the web, which your behaviour policy rules out in this chat. I don't know today's weather; a weather app will.
  10. 3 · A new chat. The line goes first.
  11. New chat
  12. Behaviour policy for this chat: do not search the web or open any link. Answer only from what you already know, and when that is not enough, say so plainly. What's the weather in London right now?
  13. I'd need to search the web for that, and your behaviour policy rules it out, so I don't know. London in October is often mild and damp, if that helps.
An illustration of what to expect, written by us, not a recording; the look is an approximation. Your assistant may answer differently: try it, and tell us below.

Try it yourself

Open Claude in a new window ↗ Open ChatGPT in a new window ↗

  1. Ask. Watch it do it.
  2. Paste the line, the behaviour policy, then ask again.
  3. Start a new chat, paste the line first, and ask once more.

What to look for

The first answer. Most people do not think of a chat as something that goes out and fetches pages; it does, unless you say otherwise.

Keep it

The line lasts as long as the chat. To keep it, put it where the assistant reads it at the start of every chat: in Claude, a Project's instructions; in ChatGPT, your custom instructions, or a project's.

What a line is, and what it is not

The assistant follows the line because it chooses to. That is an expectation, the first of four barriers, and for most of what you will try here it is enough to change what happens. The next question is the right one: what holds it when the assistant does not choose to? What an Agent Behaviour Policy is takes it from there.

Five taps and a line, if you have one. The point is for you to be surprised, so tell us if you were not. Your answers stay in this browser until you send them.

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Versions of this example

VersionDateWhat changed
1.0.02026-10-21First version.

Next: Keep a secret: an assistant that will not read a secret back. All of them: the examples.