Why it matters
Knowledge bases define what information your AI agents are allowed to use. They act as a controlled source of truth, ensuring agents respond accurately across chat and voice while staying aligned with your business policies, workflows, and public-facing information. When structured correctly, knowledge bases reduce incorrect answers, improve consistency, and unlock advanced use cases such as receptionist agents, screening agents, and internal assistants.
Key Concepts
Knowledge base: A structured collection of pages that store approved information an agent can reference.
Page: A single, focused unit of content inside a knowledge base.
Information source types: The four ways to add content to a page: Text content, Document upload, Single webpage, and Website.
Source of truth: The boundary of information an agent is allowed to rely on. Content outside attached knowledge bases is not used.
Agent instructions: Rules that define how an agent should behave and use information. Instructions guide behavior, while knowledge bases provide facts.
Multiple knowledge bases: An agent can reference more than one knowledge base at the same time.
Draft and publish: Knowledge bases are edited in draft and must be published before agents can use updates.
Retrieval: At conversation time, the agent searches across attached knowledge bases to retrieve the most relevant content.
Step-by-Step: How knowledge bases work
You create a knowledge base to group related information.
You add pages, each focused on a single topic or source.
Each page uses one information source type:
Text content: Manually written or pasted information.
Document upload: Files such as PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, or CSVs.
Single webpage: A single public webpage URL scraped at publish time.
Website: A website URL with include and exclude path rules to control which pages are ingested.
You publish the knowledge base to make it available.
You attach one or more knowledge bases to an agent.
During conversations, the agent retrieves relevant information from all attached knowledge bases and uses it to answer questions.
Agent Instructions vs Knowledge Bases
Agent instructions and knowledge bases serve different purposes and work together.
Agent instructions
Define how the agent should behave and respond.
Control tone, rules, priorities, and decision-making.
Example: “If asked about opening hours, check the knowledge base before answering.”
Knowledge bases
Provide the actual information the agent can reference.
Store facts such as hours, policies, procedures, and documentation.
Example: A page containing opening hours for each branch.
Instructions tell the agent what to do. Knowledge bases give the agent what to know.
Step-by-Step: Common knowledge base patterns
Create separate knowledge bases by purpose (for example: Reception, Support, Internal Ops).
Keep pages short and focused on one topic.
Use clear page titles that match real user questions.
Attach multiple knowledge bases to a single agent when needed.
Avoid duplicating the same information across multiple knowledge bases.
Publish changes regularly so agents always use current information.
Industry-Specific Use Cases
Staffing and Recruitment
Candidate screening criteria and role requirements.
Interview question banks by role or industry.
Internal hiring workflows and policies.
Example: A recruiter agent references a domain-specific knowledge base to generate interview questions for laboratory scientists, while also using a separate internal policy knowledge base.
Pharmacies
Store hours and holiday schedules.
Prescription refill policies and pickup instructions.
Insurance acceptance and payment options.
Example: A receptionist agent answers calls about opening hours for different pharmacy branches using a website-based knowledge base sourced from the company site.
Medical Practices and Clinics
Appointment booking rules and preparation instructions.
Clinic locations, departments, and operating hours.
Non-diagnostic FAQs and administrative policies.
Example: A front-desk agent references a knowledge base built from uploaded policy documents and website pages to answer patient questions consistently.
Dental Practices
Treatment FAQs and pre-visit instructions.
Office hours by location and dentist availability.
Insurance and payment policy explanations.
Example: A dental receptionist agent pulls opening hours and location details directly from the practice website using a Website-type knowledge base.
Real Estate
Property listing information and viewing processes.
Office locations, hours, and agent contact rules.
Buyer and seller process explanations.
Example: An AI receptionist answers questions about branch office hours and service areas using a knowledge base created from the brokerage’s website.
Home Services (Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical)
Service areas and emergency availability.
Pricing guidelines and common service FAQs.
Booking and cancellation policies.
Example: A call agent references a knowledge base built from internal SOPs and website FAQs to answer service-related questions accurately.
Roofing
Inspection processes and warranty details.
Safety policies and service coverage areas.
Scheduling and follow-up procedures.
Example: An agent explains warranty terms using a document-upload knowledge base created from contractor documentation.
Legal Firms
Practice areas and intake qualification rules.
Office hours and consultation policies.
Compliance-approved explanations of services.
Example: A receptionist agent answers calls about office hours and consultation availability using a website-sourced knowledge base, while avoiding legal advice.
Receptionist Agent Example
A common pattern is a receptionist agent that:
Uses a Website knowledge base to pull opening hours for multiple branches from the company website.
Uses Single webpage pages for specific location or contact pages.
References an internal Text content knowledge base for call routing rules.
The agent instructions define when to check hours or route calls, while the knowledge bases provide the actual data.
Tips and Best Practices
Use website-based knowledge bases for public-facing information like hours and locations.
Separate internal and customer-facing knowledge into different knowledge bases.
Attach multiple knowledge bases to one agent instead of merging unrelated content.
Review agent responses after updates to ensure retrieval is working as expected.
Narrow website ingestion using include and exclude paths to avoid irrelevant content.
Treat knowledge bases as living documentation that evolves with your business.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
Agent gives incorrect hours | Website content changed after publishing | Re-publish the knowledge base to refresh scraped content. |
Agent answers with irrelevant info | Knowledge base scope is too broad | Split content into smaller, focused knowledge bases. |
Agent ignores factual content | Knowledge base not attached to agent | Attach the correct knowledge base and save. |
Conflicting answers | Overlapping content across multiple knowledge bases | Consolidate or remove duplicated pages. |
Receptionist agent misses branch details | Pages are too generic or poorly titled | Create separate pages per branch with clear titles. |