Knowledge base: Best practices when creating knowledge sources
To ensure your conversational app delivers accurate and up-to-date responses, follow these best practices when managing your knowledge sources:
Keep sources updated
- Synchronise URL sources: If the content on a webpage has changed, make sure to synchronise your URL sources regularly so that the latest information is available to the conversational app.
- Update file sources: Upload updated versions of files (PDF, Word, etc.) whenever the information they contain changes, ensuring your conversational app is always referencing the most current data.
- Add multiple sources: Add different types of knowledge sources, such as FAQs, policy documents, and support guides, to give your app a broader range of information to pull from when answering questions.
Structure information effectively
- Create separate sources by topic: For easier updates, consider creating distinct knowledge sources for different topics (e.g. returns, product information, shipments). This way, you can quickly update specific information without affecting unrelated topics.
- Organise sections in larger sources: If you prefer to keep all information in a single knowledge source, ensure that the content is well-organised into sections, clearly divided by topic (e.g. returns, shipping policies, product specifications).
Provide clear and detailed information
- Avoid assuming complex associations: Ensure that each section of the knowledge source provides detailed, standalone information. Do not assume the AI will make complex relationships between different sections to form a response.
- Avoid tables: Tables are not processed effectively by the AI. Instead, rewrite the table data as sentences or paragraphs to ensure the content is understood properly by the chatbot.
- Review website exports for hyperlinks: When exporting content from a website to include in your knowledge sources, be aware that hyperlinks may not copy correctly. Review the text to check for broken references and ensure no critical information is lost.
- Maintain context within paragraphs: Keep context intact within each paragraph or section. The more context you can include, the more accurate the AI’s responses will be. It is better to repeat key information rather than rely on the AI to reference or link to another part of the document.
