Internal knowledge assistants: help staff find answers fast
By Keith Hamilton · · 5 min read
In most businesses, the answer to a question already exists somewhere: in a policy document, a price list, a procedure or an old email. The problem is finding it, so people ask a colleague, interrupt a manager or guess. This article explains how an internal knowledge assistant can help staff find information fast, how to keep it accurate and safe, and what you should not put into it.
What is an internal knowledge assistant?
It is an AI assistant that answers staff questions using your own documents rather than general knowledge from the internet. A member of staff types a question in plain English, such as how to process a refund over a certain value, and the assistant finds the relevant parts of your documents and writes a short answer, with a link to where that answer came from.
The important point is that it is grounded in your material. It should answer from what you have given it, and say so when it does not know.
Why finding information costs more than it looks
Time spent searching is easy to miss because it happens in small pieces. A few minutes looking for a form, a quick message to a colleague, a wait for someone who knows. Across a team, those pieces add up.
There are other costs too:
- Experienced people are interrupted repeatedly with the same questions.
- New starters take longer to become confident.
- Staff give customers different answers because they found different versions of a document.
- Knowledge leaves the business when someone moves on.
A knowledge assistant will not fix all of this, but it can make the right answer much quicker to reach.
Answering from your own documents
The assistant is only as good as the documents behind it. Before you start, gather the material people actually use, such as:
- Policies and procedures.
- Product and service information.
- Standard answers to customer questions.
- Internal guides and how-to notes.
Then remove what is out of date or contradictory. If you have three versions of the returns policy, the assistant may quote the wrong one. Picking a single source of truth for each topic is often the most valuable part of the whole exercise.
It also helps to start narrow. In a proof of concept for a UK district council, we sent callers an instant SMS link with answers drawn from the council's own website, on 3 of its 27 customer journeys, with the option to transfer to a person. Starting with a few well-understood topics lets you check accuracy before widening the scope.
Citing sources so staff can check the answer
Every answer should show where it came from, with a link to the document or section. This does two things. Staff can check the answer quickly when it matters, and you can spot when the assistant is relying on the wrong document.
Encourage staff to treat answers as a fast route to the right document, not as the final word, especially for anything involving money, safety, legal matters or customers' personal circumstances.
Keeping sources current
Knowledge goes out of date. Prices change, procedures are updated and policies are revised. If the documents behind the assistant are not kept current, it will confidently give old answers.
Simple habits that help
- Give each document an owner who is responsible for keeping it up to date.
- Add a review date to important documents.
- When a policy changes, update the source document first, then check the assistant picks up the change.
- Give staff an easy way to flag an answer that looks wrong.
Access controls and what not to put in
Not every document should be available to everyone. If the assistant can read a file, assume anyone who can use the assistant could see its contents. Set it up so that people only get answers from documents they are already allowed to see.
There is also material that is best left out altogether, or handled with great care:
- Personal data about staff or customers, such as HR records, health information or individual account details.
- Payment card details, bank details, passwords and access credentials.
- Confidential commercial information, such as unannounced plans or sensitive negotiations.
- Anything you would not be comfortable explaining if it appeared in an answer.
Where personal data is involved, UK GDPR applies. You need a lawful basis, you should use only the data you need, and processing that is likely to be high risk needs a data protection impact assessment. The ICO publishes guidance on AI and data protection that is a sensible starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Will a knowledge assistant make things up?
AI assistants can produce answers that sound right but are not, which is why grounding answers in your own documents and showing sources matters. Set the assistant to say when it cannot find an answer rather than guess. Regular checks of real questions and answers will show you how reliable it is.
How many documents do I need to start?
Not many. A small set of well-maintained documents on the topics people ask about most is a better start than everything on your shared drive. You can add more once the first set is working well.
Who should own the assistant?
Someone in the business, not just IT, should own the content and the quality of the answers. Each document should have its own owner too. Clear ownership is what keeps the answers current.
Where Forwardcycle fits
Our efficiency and capacity service helps businesses set up knowledge assistants on their own documents, with sensible access controls and a plan for keeping content current. To find out whether it suits you, take the free AI Readiness Assessment or arrange a free call.