​

Knowledge

Knowledge is the foundation of your AI’s ability to provide accurate, helpful responses. It transforms your documentation, support articles, and internal information into a searchable system that powers intelligent conversations with your customers.

​

Why Knowledge Matters

Without knowledge, your AI can only provide generic responses based on its training data. With a well-structured knowledge system, your AI can:

• Answer specific questions about your products, services, and policies
• Provide accurate information grounded in your actual documentation
• Stay up-to-date as you add or modify content
• Cite sources so users can verify information
• Reduce hallucinations by retrieving facts instead of generating guesses

​

How Knowledge Retrieval Works

When a user asks a question, botBrains follows a multi-step process to find and use relevant information:

​

1. Question Analysis

The system analyzes the user’s question to understand what information is needed. This includes:

• Extracting key concepts and entities
• Understanding the user’s intent
• Considering conversation context and history

​

2. Source Retrieval

botBrains searches through your knowledge sources using advanced retrieval techniques:

• Vector similarity search: Finds semantically similar content, even when exact words don’t match
• Chunk-level retrieval: Breaks documents into manageable pieces to find precise information
• Audience filtering: Only searches sources relevant to the user’s audience (if configured)

The system retrieves multiple candidate sources that might contain relevant information.

​

3. Response Generation

The AI synthesizes information from retrieved sources to:

• Answer the user’s question directly
• Combine information from multiple sources when needed
• Maintain your brand voice and style (defined in Guidance)
• Include source attributions so users can verify the information

​

4. Source Attribution

After generating a response, the system tracks which sources were used, allowing you to:

• See exactly what knowledge informed each answer
• Identify gaps where information is missing or unclear
• Improve your knowledge base based on real usage patterns

​

Knowledge Architecture

Your knowledge system consists of several components working together:

​

Data Providers

Data providers are the sources of your knowledge. Each provider represents a distinct collection of information:

• Web Crawler: Automatically syncs content from websites
• Confluence: Connects to Confluence spaces
• Human (Snippets): Manually created and curated content

Learn more in Data Providers.

​

Sources

Sources are the individual documents, pages, or pieces of content within a data provider:

• Web pages crawled from your site
• Confluence pages
• Uploaded PDFs or documents
• Snippets you create manually

Each source is:

• Chunked into smaller segments for precise retrieval
• Embedded as vectors for semantic search
• Indexed for fast retrieval during conversations
• Versioned through snapshots to track changes

​

Snapshots

Snapshots capture the state of a data provider at a specific point in time:

• Automatically created when content is synced or updated
• Include all sources and their processed chunks
• Allow you to see how your knowledge has evolved
• Can be deployed to make content available to your AI

​

Chunks and Embeddings

Behind the scenes, botBrains processes your sources into retrievable units:

1. Chunking: Long documents are split into smaller segments (chunks) of related content
2. Embedding: Each chunk is converted into a vector representation that captures its semantic meaning
3. Indexing: Vectors are stored in a database optimized for fast similarity search

This processing happens automatically when you sync a data provider.

​

Knowledge in Action

​

Example: Customer Question

Let’s see how knowledge powers a real interaction: User Question: “What’s your refund policy for annual subscriptions?” What Happens:

1. The system searches your knowledge base for content about refunds and subscriptions
2. It finds relevant chunks from your “Terms of Service” page and “Billing FAQ” snippet
3. The AI synthesizes this information into a clear answer
4. Source attributions show exactly which documents were used

Response: “Our refund policy for annual subscriptions allows for a full refund within 30 days of purchase. After 30 days, refunds are prorated based on usage. [View full policy →]“

​

Viewing Sources Used

In the botBrains platform, you can see exactly which knowledge sources were used for any message:

1. Open a conversation in the Analyze section
2. Click on an AI message
3. Open the Knowledge sidebar to see:
   • Used Sources: Documents the AI cited in its response
   • Available Sources: Other relevant content that was retrieved but not used
   • Snippets: Specific text excerpts that informed the answer

This transparency helps you understand and improve your AI’s knowledge.

​

Best Practices

​

Use Snippets for Precision

Create snippets for:

• Semi-Public Information that shouldn’t be directly published.
• Policy statements that must be exact
• Information that needs to override crawled content (we strongly suggest fixing the source if possible)
• Temporary updates before your main docs are updated

Snippets give you fine-grained control over what your AI knows.

​

Keep Content Updated

Set up automatic syncing for web crawlers so your AI stays current:

• Schedule daily or weekly syncs for documentation sites
• Manually trigger syncs after major content updates or timely updates
• Review the Knowledge sidebar to identify outdated information

​

Monitor Knowledge Usage

Use the Knowledge sidebar that opens on “Improve Answer” in conversations to:

• Identify which sources are most valuable
• Find questions where relevant knowledge is missing
• Discover content that needs clarification or expansion

​

Next Steps

Now that you understand how knowledge works, explore how to:

• Set up Data Providers to connect your knowledge sources
• Create Snippets for precise, curated information
• Improve Answers by analyzing which knowledge is used and incorrect
• Configure Audiences to show relevant knowledge to different users