System Instruction Hierarchy

System instruction hierarchy refers to the priority order among different message types and constraints, typically placing system prompts above developer and user instructions. It determines which guidance the model follows when conflicts arise. For teams orchestrating complex workflows, understanding this hierarchy is crucial to reliably controlling AI behavior and ensuring that critical safety or policy rules always take precedence. System instruction hierarchy is the ordering of authority among different instruction types, usually giving system prompts higher priority than developer or user messages. It determines which guidance the model follows when conflicts occur. For complex AI messaging workflows, respecting this hierarchy is critical to enforce safety and policy constraints reliably.