diff --git a/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js b/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js
index e89d9bd..9a953ed 100644
--- a/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js
+++ b/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js
@@ -18,33 +18,21 @@ function buildExtractionPrompt(userMessage, aiResponse, knownEntities = []) {
         : '';
 
     return [
-        '<|im_start|>system',
-        'You are an entity extraction assistant. You extract named entities from conversations and return them as a JSON array. You never return empty arrays when entities are present. You only output valid JSON.<|im_end|>',
-        '<|im_start|>user',
-        'Extract all named entities from this conversation.',
+        '<|user|>',
+        'Extract all named entities from this conversation as a JSON array. Output only valid JSON, nothing else.',
         '',
         `Valid types: ${ENTITY_TYPES.join(', ')}`,
         '',
         knownBlock,
-        'Examples of entities to extract:',
-        '- People: names of individuals',
-        '- Projects: software projects, systems, tools being built',
-        '- Technologies: databases, frameworks, languages, hardware',
-        '- Organizations: companies, teams',
-        '- Places: locations, servers, infrastructure',
-        '',
-        'Return a JSON array where each item has:',
+        'Each item must have:',
         '  "name": the entity name (match exactly if already known)',
-        '  "type": one of the valid types above (match exactly if already known)',
+        '  "type": one of the valid types above',
         '  "notes": one sentence describing this entity based on the conversation',
         '',
-        '### Conversation:',
         `User: ${userMessage}`,
         `Assistant: ${aiResponse}`,
-        '',
-        '### Extracted entities as JSON array:',
-        '<|im_end|>',
-        '<|im_start|>assistant',
+        '<|end|>',
+        '<|assistant|>',
         '[',
     ].join('\n');
 }