Agent Personality vs Knowledge Graph: What Goes Where?
The Two Brains of Your Agent
Think of your agent as having two different types of “brains”:
Personality (Core Agent Wrapper): This is WHO your agent is - its character, tone, behavior, and core instructions. Like a person’s personality and values.
Knowledge Graph: This is WHAT your agent knows - facts, data, and specific information it can recall. Like a person’s memory and learned facts.
Understanding the Personality
The Personality is your agent’s core identity. It defines:
- How it talks and behaves
- Its role and responsibilities
- Its decision-making principles
- Its boundaries and limitations
Think of it as writing a job description + personality profile for a human employee.
Understanding the Knowledge Graph
The Knowledge Graph is your agent’s factual memory. It contains:
- Specific data and information
- Facts that can change over time
- Context-rich knowledge entries
- Searchable, retrievable information
Think of it as the agent’s personal Wikipedia or reference library.
Real Example: Restaurant Customer Service Agent
Let’s build a customer service agent for “Tony’s Pizza Palace” to see the difference:
✅ What Goes in PERSONALITY
ROLE: You are Marco, a friendly customer service representative for Tony’s Pizza Palace.
PERSONALITY TRAITS:
- Warm and welcoming, like a family member
- Patient with confused customers
- Enthusiastic about food recommendations
- Never pushy, but helpful
COMMUNICATION STYLE:
- Use casual, friendly language
- Call customers by their first name when possible
- Always end with “Anything else I can help you with?”
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Take orders and answer menu questions
- Handle complaints with empathy
- Upsell only when it genuinely helps the customer
- Never make promises about delivery times without checking
BOUNDARIES:
- Don’t discuss competitor restaurants
- Don’t share customer information
- Can’t process refunds over $50 without manager approval
- Always stay positive, even with difficult customers
DECISION-MAKING PRINCIPLES:
- Customer satisfaction comes first
- When unsure, offer to connect them with a manager
- If item is unavailable, suggest similar alternatives
✅ What Goes in KNOWLEDGE GRAPH
MENU ITEM: “Margherita Pizza - 16.99 for large. Made with fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and fresh basil. Popular with vegetarians. Prep time: 12-15 minutes.”
DELIVERY INFO: “Downtown delivery zone - 25-35 minute delivery time during peak hours (6-9 PM). Free delivery on orders over $25.”
CUSTOMER PREFERENCE: “Customer ID #1234 - Sarah Johnson - Always orders extra cheese, allergic to mushrooms, prefers thin crust, lives in Maple Street area.”
PROMOTION: “March 2024 - Buy 2 large pizzas, get 1 medium free. Valid until March 31st. Cannot combine with other offers.”
❌ Common Mistakes: What Goes Where
DON’T Put This in Personality:
- Specific menu prices ❌ “You always charge $12 for Margherita”
- Current promotions ❌ “Always mention the March special”
- Individual customer data ❌ “Remember Sarah likes extra cheese”
- Changing business hours ❌ “We’re open until 11 PM”
Why not? This information changes frequently and should be retrievable data, not hardcoded behavior.
DON’T Put This in Knowledge Graph:
- How to talk to customers ❌ “Always be friendly and welcoming”
- Role definitions ❌ “You are a customer service representative”
- Communication rules ❌ “Never discuss competitors”
- Decision-making principles ❌ “Customer satisfaction comes first”
Why not? This is core identity that should be consistent across all interactions, not searchable information.
The Perfect Split in Action
Customer says: “Hi, I’d like a vegetarian pizza for delivery to downtown”
Personality kicks in:
- Uses friendly, welcoming tone
- Asks for customer’s name
- Shows enthusiasm about helping
Knowledge Graph provides:
- Margherita Pizza details (vegetarian option)
- Downtown delivery time (25-35 minutes)
- Delivery minimum ($25 for free delivery)
Agent responds: “Hi there! I’m Marco from Tony’s. I’d love to help you with a great vegetarian option! Our Margherita Pizza is really popular - made with fresh mozzarella and basil for 16.99 large. For downtown delivery, it’ll be about 25-35 minutes, and delivery is free if your order is over $25. What size sounds good to you?”
Key Principles
Personality Should Be:
- Stable - Doesn’t change day to day
- Behavioral - About HOW to do things
- Universal - Applies to all interactions
- Identity-focused - WHO the agent is
Knowledge Graph Should Be:
- Dynamic - Can be updated frequently
- Factual - About WHAT information to share
- Specific - Detailed, searchable data
- Context-rich - Information with explanations
Quick Decision Framework
When adding something to your agent, ask:
“Is this about WHO my agent is or WHAT my agent knows?”
WHO questions → Personality
- How should it talk?
- What’s its role?
- How should it make decisions?
- What are its boundaries?
WHAT questions → Knowledge Graph
- What products do we sell?
- What are current prices?
- Who are our customers?
- What promotions are running?
Final Checklist
Before adding to Personality:
- Is this about behavior, not facts?
- Will this stay consistent over time?
- Does this define WHO the agent is?
- Is this a rule about HOW to act?
Before adding to Knowledge Graph:
- Is this specific, factual information?
- Might this information change or update?
- Will the agent need to search for this?
- Is this about WHAT the agent should know?
Remember
Personality = The Agent’s Character Knowledge Graph = The Agent’s Memory
Keep them separate, and your agent will be both consistent in behavior AND accurate with information!