Create your Knowledge Base Step by Step.
Last updated
Last updated
Your Knowledge Base is simply a centralized collection of all your information and processes: it's the knowledge your Agent needs to carry out the instructions you give it (for example, the guide for a traditional sales agent or the catalog of e-commerce).
Remember the scene of Neo learning Kung Fu as if it were a program? This would be the same, but replacing Kung Fu with the necessary knowledge to perform your main instruction.
It's extremely important to train your Agents with a well-structured and updated Knowledge Base to ensure safe, accurate, and relevant interactions. By following the best practices outlined in this guide, you can ensure that the format and structure of your Knowledge Base are optimized for use with generative AI, resulting in better experiences for customers and more efficient interactions.
Explicit knowledge, such as manuals, guides, and reports, is ideal for training your agent. It's recommended to avoid repetition or implicit knowledge, as the agent will be more optimized with clear, concise, and descriptive information.
Your Knowledge Base is a text file without images, but not all formats are suitable. Your Agent will work best if your Knowledge Base is in txt or docx (preferably), although it can also work with pdf.
It is recommended to avoid using presentations in 'pptx' format to train your Agent. These types of documents often lack complete information and are estimated to contain only 30% of the valuable information we need for training. Therefore, it is preferable to focus on documents richer in text such as docx, pdf, or txt.
Avoid Duplication: do not repeat content. Each piece of information should only be present once to prevent redundancy and confusion.
Categorized Documentation: group documentation into specific categories or information silos. This will facilitate the AI system in locating and retrieving the required information efficiently.
Image Recognition: Keep in mind that AI does not recognize information contained in the images of the documentation. Therefore, important details regarding the images should always be included in the text.
Be Specific: Information should not be inferred but explicitly stated. The AI system relies on clarity to provide correct and relevant answers. Sales, website URLs, or presentations often have a lot of implicit content and context.
Written Descriptions: Any scheme, process, or flowchart should also be described in textual format. This is important because AI systems primarily process textual information.
To create an effective knowledge base, it is essential to provide explicit and detailed descriptions of processes. Processes are vital knowledge components in any project or organization. By writing down the steps of your flowcharts, you ensure that the AI system can understand and provide accurate responses based on your processes.
Wrong Option:
Correct Option:
"All sellers on our team must follow these steps with all their prospective clients. The first step is to establish contact with the potential client and determine if they are qualified or not. If they are qualified and the potential client wishes to contract, we will proceed to organize the contracting requirements and close the deal. If the potential client does not wish to contract, a renegotiation option will be offered. If the potential client does not wish to renegotiate, it will be considered a Failed Contract."
Most companies already have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, and these are an excellent way to train your Knowledge Base. The more questions and answers, the better. Your Agent will be able to extract relevant information from the FAQ sections to provide answers to common queries and resolve customer issues.
Example: "How do I determine if a lead is valid?' To determine if a lead is valid, you must consider several factors such as the lead's relevance to your target market, the demonstrated interest in your product or service, their financial availability, decision-making time, and authority to make decisions. This involves analyzing if the lead fits within your market segment, has shown interest in what you offer, has the financial capacity to acquire your product or service, is ready to make a decision, and has the authority to do so. These considerations will help you choose the most promising and effective leads for your sales efforts."
Every company or organization has its own internal terminology. This includes implicit meanings, internal acronyms, abbreviations, and contexts that someone external to your organization wouldn't understand. It's important that internal terminology be described in a dictionary-style format. We recommend that internal terminology be its own information silo.
You can use URLs by including them within your documentation to expand the information. To do it efficiently, you must include the complete URL. Hyperlinks won't work. These URLs, describing their context well, can be shared with your audience within the conversation.
Wrong option: to schedule an appointment, provide the link.
Correct option: to schedule an appointment, provide the link: https://calendly.com/pepelu_caleida/
Titles are important for delineating information silos. For example, if you have a section on the Sales Department, it's optimal to include a descriptive title indicating to the AI the context of the following information you will present. Since AI processes textual format better, titles and an explanation about them help categorize your documentation and make it easier for Agents to understand.
Wrong option:
Sales Management Letter.
To operate efficiently in sales within a company, it is necessary to build a strong sales management function.
This is a critical role to ensure that the company is achieving Revenue Goals.
This function will be led by the Director of Business Development.
Valid option: "The "Sales Management Letter" refers to a set of guidelines and expectations established for the sales team in our company. Its aim is to operate efficiently and achieve the company's revenue goals. This important role is led by the Director of Business Development who oversees sales operations and ensures that sales targets are met".
Indexes are useful for organizing and summarizing the content of a document. However, AI may have difficulties with this type of information.
AI may interpret indexes as duplicate content due to their similarity with the expanded content later in the text. This can cause issues in how they process and understand the content.
To avoid this duplication, content should be presented in a direct and broken-down manner from the outset. This will facilitate understanding by the AI and prevent any interpretation issues.
Wrong option:
"7 stages in the sales process.
Prospecting
Lead qualification
Sales call, demo, or meeting
Proposal
Negotiation
Contract signing
Post-purchase"
Valid option: "The sales process consists of various strategic steps that guide the seller from identifying a prospect to converting them into a loyal customer. Below is a summary of the typical phases: Prospecting is the first step and focuses on locating and identifying potential customers or consumers for your products or services. Prospecting can be outbound, where the search is actively conducted on platforms such as LinkedIn or Google, or inbound, where contact is made with individuals who have already shown interest in what you offer. [...]".
The best option for presenting information to the agent is by providing them with maximum context without summarizing to obtain detailed responses.
Valid option: "This table represents a summary of fruit sales in a fictional business over a specific period of time. The data includes the type of product (various fruits), the unit price of each fruit, the quantity of units sold for each product, and the total revenue generated by each product. This data could be useful for conducting sales analysis and making decisions regarding inventory management and pricing schemes".
When dealing with larger tables, the best option is to add a written instruction in the documentation specifying what the table contains. First, define what the table is for or what general information it contains. Second, describe the content of each column and if there is any correlation with the subsequent columns, be very descriptive. Finally, add the described table and conduct tests to ensure the result is correct. This way, the agent can understand these tables and fill in the information themselves, without needing to detail the table precisely.
Valid option:
"The provided table shows the details of three different products sold: Apples, Pears, and Oranges. These details include the unit price, the number of units sold, and the total revenue generated by each product.
Each row represents a different product, while each column offers specific details about each product.
The first column, Product, lists the names of the products.
The second column, Unit Price, provides the cost of a single unit of each product.
The third column, Units Sold, shows the number of units that have been sold for each product.
Finally, the fourth column, Total Revenue, shows the total amount of money generated from the product sales."
The table will be added after the context.
Content Grouping: Grouping similar content on the same page, instead of having it on different pages, avoids duplication and provides numerous benefits both for us using that documentation and for the Agent processing that information.
Keep the Knowledge Base Updated: Knowledge bases are not something that is created and then left aside. Your business, policies, products, and services are constantly evolving. Therefore, it is essential to keep your knowledge base updated to match these changes. This ensures that users obtain relevant and accurate information.
Develop a Clear and Coherent Structure: Each piece of information in the knowledge base must have its assigned place. The AI will be able to provide more accurate information if it can trace the exact source from where the information comes. Therefore, it is recommended to categorize the information into sections or silos.
Ensure the Information is Well Written: The information should be easy to read and understand. Eliminate technical or industry jargon unless it is absolutely necessary. Use simple and concise sentences and avoid long and convoluted phrases.
Incorporate User Feedback: Users often interact with your agent to obtain information. These interactions can lead to questions or issues you had not considered before. Observe the recurring questions or issues and update your knowledge base to include information related to these inquiries.
It is important to remember that a good knowledge base is a work in progress. It won't be perfect the first time, but with diligence and attention to detail, you can develop an effective knowledge base that makes your agent a valuable resource for your users.
Access your previously created Agent.
Go to the "Instructions" section and select the instruction to which you want to upload the Knowledge Base.
On the configuration screen, click on point 3 (Knowledge Base).
In the Documentation section, click on "Upload" according to the type of document you want to use:
Products and/or services
Company information
FAQ
Additional documentation
Upload your Documentation in any of the following formats: TXT, DOCX, or PDF.
You can also scrape a webpage or add an RSS Feed.
