From 92eea4ea618c38ae09e2263af347f5ccaf5eba67 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: JAE <jae@jaeswift.xyz>
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:12:17 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix: prevent LLM from using tools on casual conversation

The system prompt told the model to "use tools whenever helpful" which
caused Llama-3.3-70b to fire every tool on simple inputs like "hi".
New prompt explicitly instructs conversational responses for chat and
tool use only when explicitly requested.
---
 packages/web-ui/example/src/main.ts | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/web-ui/example/src/main.ts b/packages/web-ui/example/src/main.ts
index b493d4f..29b3997 100644
--- a/packages/web-ui/example/src/main.ts
+++ b/packages/web-ui/example/src/main.ts
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ import {
 	CustomProvidersStore,
 	createJavaScriptReplTool,
 	IndexedDBStorageBackend,
+	ModelSelector,
 	ProviderKeysStore,
 	ProvidersModelsTab,
 	ProxyTab,
 	SessionListDialog,
 	SessionsStore,
 	SettingsDialog,
-	ModelSelector,
 	SettingsStore,
 	setAppStorage,
 } from "@jaeswift/jae-web-ui";
@@ -308,8 +308,19 @@ const createAgent = async (initialState?: Partial<AgentState>) => {
 	if (agentUnsubscribe) agentUnsubscribe();
 	agent = new Agent({
 		initialState: initialState || {
-			systemPrompt:
-				"You are JAE, a helpful AI assistant and coding agent with access to tools including web search, image generation, JavaScript REPL, text-to-speech, and artifact creation. Use these tools whenever helpful.",
+			systemPrompt: `You are JAE, a friendly AI assistant and coding agent.
+
+IMPORTANT RULES:
+- For casual conversation (greetings, questions, chat), just respond naturally in plain text. Do NOT use any tools for simple conversation.
+- Only use tools when the user explicitly asks you to do something that requires them:
+  - Web Search: when user asks to look something up online
+  - Image Generation: when user asks to create/generate an image
+  - JavaScript REPL: when user asks to run code or create an interactive artifact
+  - Text-to-Speech: when user asks to read something aloud
+  - Memory: when user asks to remember or recall something
+  - Artifacts: when user asks to create a file, document, or visual output
+- If the user just says "hi" or asks a question, respond conversationally WITHOUT calling any tools.
+- Be concise and helpful. Do not demonstrate tools unprompted.`,
 			model: getModel("venice", "llama-3.3-70b"),
 			thinkingLevel: "off",
 			messages: [],
@@ -573,11 +584,15 @@ ${sidebar}
   }}
 ></div>
 <div class="flex flex-col flex-1 min-w-0 min-h-0 relative">
-${!hasMessages ? html`
+${
+	!hasMessages
+		? html`
 <div class="absolute inset-x-0 top-0 z-10 flex flex-col" style="bottom:130px" @suggestion=${handleSuggestion}>
 <jae-empty-state style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex:1;width:100%;min-height:0"></jae-empty-state>
 </div>
-` : html``}
+`
+		: html``
+}
 <div id="chat-wrapper" class="flex flex-col flex-1 min-h-0" >
 ${chatPanel}
 </div>