Optimizing your knowledge content for generative AI

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Generative AI pulls information from your help center and connectedknowledge
sourcesto provide answers to your users. Content is split into smaller chunks
and stored in a database for generative AI, so it can find the best matching
content to generate replies.
</p>
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Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span>
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Generative AI uses chunked knowledge content to provide accurate answers.
To improve AI responses, ensure your content is clear, focused, complete,
and self-contained. Use familiar wording, define terms, avoid vague pronouns,
and structure content with headings, lists, and clear instructions. Include
text for images and avoid complex tables. These practices help AI deliver
better, faster support answers from your knowledge base.
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<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Generative AI pulls information from your help center and connected
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9822956298010" target="_blank">knowledge sources</a>
to provide answers to your users. Content is split
into smaller chunks and stored in a database for generative AI, so it
can find the best matching
content to generate replies.
</p>
<p class="p">
Generative AI works best when content is clear, concise, and complete.
If you’re using
generative AI features, you can optimize your articles to improve the
quality and accuracy of
generative responses.
</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note tip">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> If you're on Professional or Enterprise,
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10799529609498" target="_blank">try the knowledge copilot (EAP)</a>
to get a clear view into AI readability
of your content.
</div>
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<p class="p">
This article contains the following topics:
</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dsr_qpj_2hb__ul_ibc_h1k_jhb">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_sd5_ghv_kbc">Understanding how knowledge sources are used by generative AI</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_rls_l1k_jhb">Best practices for optimizing content for generative AI</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_sd5_ghv_kbc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">
Understanding how knowledge sources are used by generative AI
</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
For generative AI to use a knowledge source, the text is ingested
and split into smaller
chunks. Chunking is the first step in retrieval-augmented Generation
(RAG). RAG lets a large
language model (LLM) use information from connected knowledge sources.
</p>
<div class="p">
Here's an overview of the process:
<ol class="ol" id="topic_sd5_ghv_kbc__ol_p45_jlx_ljc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Knowledge content is ingested and split into chunks.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
Each chunk is stored in a database with a numerical vector,
representing the
semantic meaning of the chunk.
</li>
<li class="li">
When a user message is sent, the meaning of the message is
compared with the meaning of the
chunks in the stored vectors.
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
Generative AI uses the article title and best matching chunks
to generate the
reply.
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">
Text chunks created from your ingested content are the source of
generative AI, so if the
content is clear and complete, the results will be better.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_rls_l1k_jhb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Best practices for optimizing content for generative AI </h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Generative AI works best when it draws from content that is clear,
concise, and complete. Good
preparation helps generative AI provide faster and more accurate
responses.
</p>
<p class="p">
Most of these guidelines also apply to good writing, in general,
but you might find you want
to adjust some of the guidelines to make them work for your human
audience too.
</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_gkq_2bk_jhb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4"> Best practices for writing content for AI use</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Use these best practices for writing content: </p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_gkq_2bk_jhb__ul_ayv_tlx_ljc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Ensure content is focused</strong>
on the topic. Completely cover a topic and avoid covering
multiple, unrelated topics.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Provide complete answers</strong>.
Directly answer a user’s question, don't imply an answer,
and provide any context the user needs.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Create self-contained content</strong>.
Include all the information the user needs in the
topic and avoid linking out.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Keep wording clear and concise</strong>.
Keep paragraphs short and focused, with
sentences that are direct and to the point.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Eliminate redundancies</strong>.
Remove any duplicate articles or conflicting information.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Define terminology</strong>. Explain
terms in full and spell out acronyms on first use.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Use wording your users are familiar with</strong>.
Use wording that your users’ use, and
that is used in your product or service.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Avoid vague pronouns</strong>, such
as “it” or “they.” Repeat the noun instead of using a
pronoun that relies on earlier context.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested2" id="topic_x2m_2bk_jhb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title5">
Best practices for structuring and formatting content for AI use
</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">
Use these best practices for structuring and formatting content:
<ul class="ul" id="topic_x2m_2bk_jhb__ul_pwp_fmx_ljc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Structure content with headings</strong>.
Use clear headings and subheadings to break
content into logical sections.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Use structured lists</strong>. Use
bullet points for facts or tips and use numbered lists
for sequential tasks.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Avoid nested instructions</strong>.
If multiple solutions exist, present each as a separate
instruction rather than sub-steps within a broader step.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Include complete instructions</strong>.
List all the steps needed to answer the question or
solve the issue.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Repeat the question or topic</strong>
from the title. This ensures that context isn’t lost
during chunking, and avoids separating questions from
their answers.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Add written text for pictures</strong>.
Include text explaining any images, videos, or
diagrams. Generative AI interprets text only.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Avoid using tables</strong>. In
general, it’s harder for an LLM to understand information
in
tables than in sentences. If you need to use a table,
try to keep it simple, with minimal
text.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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