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Amplify Gen AI: Advanced Use Guide for Davidson College

Note: This information is up-to-date as of August 2025 

This guide provides a deeper dive into Amplify AI's powerful features, allowing you to customize your experience, create specialized AI tools, and collaborate effectively within the Davidson College environment.

Table of Contents

1. Navigating and Managing Your Conversations

2. Amplify General Settings

3. Collaboration and Sharing

4. Customizing AI Behavior: Prompt Templates and Custom Instructions

5. Creating Your Own AI Assistants

1. Navigating and Managing Your Conversations

The left-hand "Conversation Sidebar" is your hub for managing your Amplify AI interactions.

  • Starting a New Chat: Click on "New Chat" at the top of the sidebar to begin a fresh conversation with the AI.
  • Organizing Conversations with Folders:
    • Click the "+" icon next to "Conversations" or directly on the sidebar to create a new folder.
    • Name your folder descriptively (e.g., "Research - History," "Project Alpha Brainstorm").
    • Drag and drop existing conversations into your folders to keep your workspace organized.
  • Searching Conversations: Use the search bar within the sidebar to quickly find past conversations by keywords in their titles or content.
  • Editing/Deleting Conversations and Folders: Hover over a conversation or folder to reveal options for renaming, moving, or deleting them.

2. Amplify General Settings

Access settings by clicking the Settings icon near the top-left side of the screen, above the Conversation Panel.

  • Theme: Switch between Dark and Light themes for your interface.
  • Conversation Storage: This setting controls the default for all conversations: whether they are stored locally (on your browser, and will disappear completely within 2 days with typical use) or in the cloud (hosted by T&I). This setting impacts accessibility across devices and data retention. 
    • You can additionally toggle between the cloud or local storage for each individual chats. Allowing you to keep most local and a few in the cloud or vice versa.
    • The status of a specific chat can be determined based on the cloud icon’s presence next to the chat title.
    • A screenshot of a chat title, showing a message icon meaning that the chat is being stored locallyA screenshot of a chat title, showing a cloud icon meaning that the chat is being stored in the cloud
    • The image displays a "Settings" window for an application, with the "Conversation Storage" tab selected. It presents two main options for storing conversations: "Local Storage" and "Cloud Storage," with sub-options for storing either all or only new conversations. The current selection is "Store only new conversations in the cloud," and the window includes "Cancel," "Save," and "Apply Changes" buttons.

3. Collaboration and Sharing

Amplify AI facilitates collaboration by allowing you to share your work with others at Davidson College.

A. Sharing Conversations

You can share either from your conversation history or directly from an active chat.

  1. From History: Select one or more conversations in the sidebar, then click the "Share" icon.
  2. From Active Chat: Click the "Share" icon within your current conversation.
  3. Add Recipients: Enter the Davidson email addresses of the people you want to share with. You can also add an optional note.
  4. Confirm Sharing: Send the shared content.

B. Sharing Prompt Templates and AI Assistants

  1. Access: Go to the Prompts Panel (right sidebar) and select the prompt template or AI Assistant you wish to share.
  2. Click Share: Look for the "Share" icon associated with the item.
  3. Add Recipients: Enter the Davidson email addresses of the recipients.
  4. Confirm Sharing: Complete the sharing process.

C. Accessing Shared Content

  • Shared content is accessed directly within Amplify.
  • Look for a "Shared With You" tab or section (often accessed by clicking on the main "Share" icon in the interface) where you can find items shared by other users. You can typically filter by the person who shared the content.

4. Customizing AI Behavior: Prompt Templates and Custom Instructions

Go beyond simple prompts by building reusable instructions for the AI. Access these features via the right-hand "Prompt and Assistant Sidebar."

A. Understanding Prompts, Custom Instructions, and Assistants

  • Prompts: These are your direct inputs or requests to the AI to generate a response (e.g., "Summarize this article," "Write a Python function for X").
  • Custom Instructions: These define the AI's overarching behavior, tone, and response style across your conversations. They ensure the AI consistently acts in a specific way you define.
  • Assistants: These are pre-configured AI models for specific tasks. They can incorporate custom instructions and specific prompts, essentially acting as specialized AI agents.

B. Creating Prompt Templates

Prompt Templates allow you to create reusable prompts with predefined instructions and dynamic variables, ensuring consistent AI interactions.

  1. Access: Click the "+ Prompt Template" button in the Prompt and Assistant Panel.
  2. Name your Template: Give it a clear, descriptive name.
  3. Description (Optional): Add a brief explanation of its purpose.
  4. Custom Instructions: Define the AI's behavior for this template (e.g., "Provide responses in an academic style").
  5. Prompt Field: This is the core instruction. Use {{variable_name}} to create dynamic placeholders that you'll fill in when you use the template (e.g., "Generate a lesson plan for a {{grade_level}} class on {{topic}}.").
  6. Conversation Tags (Optional): Assign tags for easier categorization and retrieval.
  7. Select Template Type: Choose "Prompt Template."
  8. Save: Your template will appear in the Prompts Panel.

C. Creating Custom Instructions

Custom Instructions define the AI's default behavior, tone, and decision-making for your general chats.

  1. Access: Click the "+ Prompt Template" button in the Prompt and Assistant Panel.
  2. Name and Describe: Provide a name and optional description for your instructions.
  3. Prompt Field: Define the AI's desired behavior or response patterns. You can also use {{}} placeholders for dynamic inputs.
  4. Conversation Tags (Optional): Assign tags for organization.
  5. Select Template Type: Crucially, choose "Custom Instructions."
  6. Save: Your custom instructions will be available in the Prompts Panel for use.

5. Creating Your Own AI Assistants

Build highly specialized AI tools tailored to your specific workflows and information needs.

  1. Access: Click the "+ Assistant" button in the Prompt and Assistant Panel.
  2. Auto-Populate (Optional): You can start by auto-populating from an existing assistant to save time.
  3. Name and Describe: Provide a unique and descriptive name, along with an optional description of its function.
  4. Detailed Instructions: Clearly guide the assistant's behavior. You can use dynamic variables here as well.
  5. Disclaimer (Optional): Add a disclaimer to be appended to all assistant responses (e.g., for clarification or ethical guidelines).
  6. Upload External Data Sources: This is a powerful feature! You can upload documents (PDFs, DOCX, CSV) to give your assistant a specific knowledge base to draw from.
  7. Advanced Settings: For even finer control (e.g., RAG options, message formatting, artifact creation), explore the "Advanced Settings" which are detailed on a separate page.

Save: Once saved, your assistant will be available in the Prompts Panel.

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