We're using the Fin AI Agent on a Shopify store with only light integration to Zendesk (mostly using Fin to handle customer questions about our site, products, and policies via chat—no complex workflows or heavy ticketing yet).
We have thousands of products in our catalog, and Fin keeps randomly suggesting or highlighting specific ones (e.g., naming a particular brand/model like "Check out the XYZ-5000" or "Look at this popular option from Brand A") while completely ignoring hundreds of other equally comparable alternatives. This leads to unbalanced, unintended recommendations that we don't want at all. I’d rather have them do their own search than be directed to several random options vs. the hundreds fully available,
FAILED I've tried instructing "Guidance" not to do this in every possible way to block this:
- Strong overrides like "CRITICAL RULE - OVERRIDE ALL OTHER INSTRUCTIONS: NEVER mention/recommend..."
- Direct "YOU MUST..." commands with ALL CAPS emphasis
- Concrete examples of acceptable generic responses (e.g., "a wireless over-ear headset with active noise cancellation")
- Lists of forbidden elements (brands, models, phrases like "I recommend...", "Popular choices...")
- If/then logic for recommendation queries (describe features neutrally + redirect to full catalog/support/escalate)
- Escalation fallback if the rule can't be followed
- Absolute/mandatory language at the end
Nothing works—Fin still leaks specific suggestions in preview tests and responses.
Is there a trick or workaround that actually enforces "no specific product mentions/recommendations" in e-commerce setups like this (Shopify-heavy, product-dense knowledge base)? Things I've considered but not confirmed:
- Aggressive content source cleanup (disabling/editing any branded articles)?
- Using the Optimize tool for conflicts?
- Newer features like Procedures to override retrieval?
- Audience targeting or content-specific Guidance?
Any suggestion that can stop these random product plugs would be hugely helpful. Happy to share more details/screenshots if needed.
Thanks!
Peter G
