This document provides best practices for structuring knowledge bases. Organised, clear, and accurate content ensures retrieval efficiency and better outputs.
The Critical Role of Knowledge Base Quality
The effectiveness of your FAQ with AI experience depends fundamentally on the quality of your knowledge base. A thoughtfully constructed knowledge base serves as the foundation from which the AI generates all responses, directly impacting:
Answer Accuracy: The AI can only provide information that exists within your knowledge base. Well-structured, comprehensive content ensures respondents receive precise, relevant answers rather than generic responses or "I don't have enough information" messages.
User Satisfaction: When respondents ask questions and receive clear, helpful answers, they're more likely to complete your form and have a positive impression of your organization. Conversely, incomplete or poorly structured knowledge bases can lead to frustration and form abandonment.
Support Efficiency: A robust knowledge base reduces the need for follow-up questions and support tickets, allowing the AI to handle common inquiries effectively while freeing your team to focus on more complex matters.
Data Insights: The questions respondents ask provide valuable insights into their information needs and potential gaps in your content. A well-designed knowledge base makes these patterns easier to identify and address.
By investing time in creating a high-quality knowledge base using the best practices outlined later in this article, you'll maximize the potential of FAQ with AI and create a more seamless, supportive experience for your respondents.
- Structure & Organization
Clear Headings & Subheadings: Divide content using logical sections and sub-sections.
Consistent Formatting: Use uniform and consistent style and terminology (e.g., date formats, terms, measurement units).
Hierarchical Organization: Separate content by function and adopt a layered taxonomy (e.g., Core Category > Subcategory > Detail: Event > Registration > Rules) and ensure each section is self-sufficient/complete, reducing cross-references.
Verified Information: Ensure content is up-to-date and free from contradictory details.
- Clarity & Readability
Concise Language: Use precise, straightforward language without unnecessary filler.
Describe Terms: Define acronyms and overly technical terms upon first use or avoid them if not essential.
Structure Content: Format complex information into bullet points, numbered steps, and simple readable tables to enhance comprehension.
- AI Processing
Easily Readable Formats: Prepare your knowledge base in a format that is simple and easily processed by AI (Well Structured Plain Text, Markdown…).
Contextual Relevance: Prioritise in context, high-value information and avoid redundancies to ensure clarity and support retrieval and understanding.
Minimalism: Avoid excessive formatting that impedes text extraction (e.g., overly varied fonts, complex tables).
Metadata Tags: You can leverage structured tags (e.g., <EventDate>, <Category> ) to enhance AI context understanding.
In summary
Distinct Focus: Your knowledge snippet should cover a specific topic to avoid conflicting information.
Question & Answer Format: Long, worldly articles describing everything there is to know are often not helpful. Focusing on concise and precise information tends to lead to better results.
Balanced Context: Include enough context to be clear but avoid overloading with unnecessary details, finding the right balance is important.
Use Formatting: Employ headings, numbered lists, and bullet points for clarity.
Be Explicit: Clearly state what in particular the knowledge snippet addresses, assuming that AI will prioritise and categorise the information provided can lead to misunderstandings.
Example: Ideal Event Information Structure
Event Overview – Core concept, purpose, key highlights.
Participation Requirements – Age limits, registration steps, conditions.
Rules & Structure – Detailed schedule, guidelines, and event flow.
Special Categories – Any additional divisions or sub-events.
Short, concise summary
Structured & Modular: Organise content in clear, structured and non-overlapping sections.
Clear & Concise: Use clear language and avoid redundancy where possible.
Consistent & Accurate: Maintain uniform formatting and updated information.
Optimised for AI: Leverage Markdown and structured tags for better AI readability.
You can find the articles referenced and more information about creating and maintaining an AI knowledge base here, some best practices here and here, and a practical guide here.