---
id: templates
title: Templates
description: Start an agent from ready-made instructions for your industry, or save your own for reuse.
keywords:
  - agent templates
  - prompt templates
---

**Templates** are ready-made instructions and conversation flows for common jobs, so
you do not write an agent from scratch. Chatley ships a library by industry, and you can
save your own alongside it.

![The Templates page with industry tabs, search and cards each with Preview and Use template buttons](/img/product/templates.jpg)
*Prompt Templates. Tabs along the top filter by industry.*

## Browse the library

Open **Templates** under **Build**. The tabs along the top show how many templates each
holds: **All**, **Real estate**, **Healthcare**, **Financial services**, **Legal**,
**General**, and **Mine** for the ones you saved. Search by name, and switch between
grid and list view.

Each card shows its industry, who made it (**By Chatley** or you), a short description
and whether it **answers calls** or makes them.

## Use a template

- **Preview** shows the full instructions before you commit.
- **Use template** starts a new agent from it. The agent opens ready to customise —
  change the greeting, voice, knowledge and anything else.

You can also load a template into an existing agent from its
[Instructions tab](./agents.md#instructions) with **Start from a template**.

Using a template never changes the template itself, so you can adapt it per agent.

## Placeholders

Templates can include fields such as `{{agentName}}`, `{{customer.number}}`, `{{date}}`
and `{{time}}`. Chatley fills these in for each call. Replace anything else in braces
with your own wording — for example your business name — before you go live, so the
agent never reads a placeholder aloud.

## Save your own template

Choose **Save my own template** in the banner, give it a name, pick a category, and paste
your instructions. Your templates appear in the same library, under **Mine**, and can be
edited or deleted at any time. Built-in templates can be previewed and used but not
changed — save your own version instead.

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | What to check |
| --- | --- |
| Can't edit a template | Only templates you saved can be edited. Save a copy of the built-in one. |
| An agent reads a placeholder aloud | A `{{field}}` was left unreplaced in the agent's instructions. |

## Next steps

- [Agents](./agents.md) — customise the agent you created.
- [Knowledge](./knowledge-base.md) — add the facts the instructions refer to.
- [Call data](./structured-outputs.md) — capture structured answers from the calls that follow.