Knowledge Base

Guide to training your team's assistant using the knowledge base

Overview

The Knowledge Base is where your AI assistant transforms from a helpful tool into an expert employee. Every snippet you add becomes instantly available to all your team's assistants when drafting emails, answering customer questions, and handling conversations.

What to Add to Your Knowledge Base

Your assistants will search this database whenever they need to answer questions or draft responses. The more comprehensive it is, the better they perform.

Product & Service Knowledge

  • Insurance policy types, coverage details, carrier guidelines

  • Plan comparisons and pricing structures

  • Coverage limits, deductibles, and exclusions

  • Product specifications and features

  • Service offerings and deliverables

Email Templates and Writing Patterns

  • Add email templates for the AI to reference in certain situations

  • Common scenarios ie. "When someone asks Z, write X in Y way"

Common Customer Questions

  • FAQ responses (pre-approved language)

  • Policy explanation scripts

  • Claims process walkthroughs

  • Coverage scenario examples

  • Eligibility requirements

Sales & Objection Handling

  • Competitive differentiators

  • Objection handling frameworks

  • Pricing justification talking points

  • Value propositions for different customer types

  • Case studies and success stories

Company Processes

  • Onboarding procedures

  • Claims submission steps

  • Policy change workflows

  • Escalation protocols

  • Service level agreements

Compliance & Regulatory

  • Required disclosures

  • Approved terminology

  • Legal language for contracts

  • State-specific requirements

  • Do-not-say guidelines

Internal Resources

  • Product sheets and one-pagers

  • Rate cards and pricing guides

  • Referral programs

  • Partner information

  • Contact information for specialists

Getting Started

Navigate to: Knowledge Base

You'll see your (likely empty) knowledge base ready for training data.

Adding Knowledge Snippets

To add a snippet:

  1. Click "Add Content"

  2. Choose Text Content

  3. Give it a clear, descriptive name

  4. Paste or write the information in the content field

  5. Save

Writing Effective Titles

Your AI searches by title first, so clarity matters.

Good titles:

  • "Homeowners Policy - Water Damage Coverage Explanation"

  • "Objection Handling - Price Too High Response"

  • "Auto Insurance - Multi-Car Discount Details"

  • "Claims Process - First Notice of Loss Steps"

Weak titles:

  • "Policy Info"

  • "FAQ #7"

  • "Insurance Stuff"

  • "Important Document"

Pro tip: Include the topic category in the title so the AI knows when to reference it.

Content Best Practices

Be Specific and Complete

Don't summarize—give the full information. Your assistant will pull exact language from snippets.

Instead of: "We have good hurricane coverage" Write: "Our homeowners policies include comprehensive hurricane coverage with up to $500K in dwelling protection, additional living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable, and debris removal up to policy limits. Unlike some carriers, we don't have a separate hurricane deductible—your standard deductible applies."

Use Approved Language

If there's specific wording required for compliance or consistency, capture it exactly in your knowledge base.

Include Context

Help the AI know when to use this information.

Example:

Title: "Objection Handling - Competitor Offers Lower Rate"

When to use: Customer says a competitor quoted them less

Response framework:
"I appreciate you doing your research. Price is definitely important, but let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples. A few questions: 
- What coverage limits did they quote? 
- What's their deductible?
- Did they mention their claims satisfaction rating?

Our rates reflect our A+ AM Best rating and 98% claims satisfaction. We've also got a price-match guarantee—if you find truly comparable coverage for less, we'll match it. Can I review their quote with you to see what we're working with?"

Key points to emphasize:
- Our financial strength rating
- Claims satisfaction
- Price-match guarantee

Structure for Readability

Use bullet points, headings, and clear formatting so your AI (and humans reviewing snippets) can quickly scan.

Finding What to Add

Not sure where to start? Use CustomerIQ to tell you what's needed.

Use CustomerIQ's Highlight Views

Navigate to Highlights and filter for:

  • Questions customers ask frequently

  • Topics where reps hesitate or give inconsistent answers

  • Objections that come up repeatedly

  • Product areas generating the most inquiries

These are your highest-impact training opportunities.

Ask Your Team

Your experienced reps know what questions they get asked daily. Have them spend 30 minutes brain-dumping common scenarios into snippets.

Review Recent Conversations

Look at emails and calls from the past week. What information did reps have to look up or wasn't readily available? Add it.

Mine Existing Resources

Do you have product sheets, training decks, or FAQ documents already? Don't recreate—copy the relevant sections into snippets.

The Evolution from Assistant to Expert Employee

Week 1: Basic Assistant (10-20 snippets)

  • Core product information

  • Top 5-10 FAQs

  • Basic objection responses Your assistants can handle routine questions with pre-approved language.

Week 2-3: Knowledgeable Assistant (30-50 snippets)

  • Expanded FAQs

  • Process walkthroughs

  • More objection scenarios

  • Product comparisons Your assistants rarely need to defer to humans for standard inquiries.

Month 1+: Expert Employee (100+ snippets)

  • Comprehensive product knowledge

  • Edge case scenarios

  • State-specific information

  • Competitive intelligence

  • Deep objection handling Your assistants can handle complex, nuanced conversations with confidence.

This is the transformation that makes CustomerIQ the most flexible revenue platform available. You're not just configuring software—you're training virtual employees who know your business as well as your best reps.

Best Practices

Start with High-Impact Information

Focus on the questions your team gets asked most often. These snippets will be referenced immediately and deliver instant value.

Add Continuously, Not All at Once

Don't try to document everything in one sitting. Add 5-10 snippets per day as you notice gaps.

Review and Update Regularly

Products change, policies update, competitors shift. Set a monthly reminder to refresh outdated snippets.

Get Team Input

Your reps are in the conversations daily. They know what information would be helpful. Make adding snippets a team effort.

Test Your Snippets

After adding knowledge, monitor how assistants use it. Are they pulling the right information at the right times? Refine as needed.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Vague or incomplete information "We offer competitive rates" doesn't help your assistant. "Our homeowners rates average 15% below market in Tennessee, with discounts up to 25% for bundling" does.

Forgetting about discoverability Even great information is useless if the AI can't find it. Use clear titles and comprehensive tags.

Writing for humans only Your snippets need to work for both AI search and human reading. Include key terms the AI might search for.

Copying jargon-heavy documents verbatim Translate internal documentation into language your assistants can use in customer conversations.

Not leveraging existing conversations You have a goldmine of data in your CustomerIQ Views. Use it to identify what knowledge is actually needed.

Adding everything at once, then never updating The knowledge base should be living and growing. Schedule regular additions and updates.

What Happens Next

Immediate impact: As soon as you add a snippet, all your team's assistants can reference it when drafting emails or answering questions.

You'll notice:

  • More consistent messaging across your team

  • Faster response times (less searching for information)

  • Better handling of complex customer questions

  • Fewer escalations for routine inquiries

Continuous improvement: The first 1-2 weeks will involve the most additions as you build your foundation. After that, you'll add snippets as gaps emerge.

Measuring Success

Good indicators your knowledge base is working:

  • Assistants draft complete responses without needing human input

  • Reps report feeling confident in AI-suggested answers

  • Customer satisfaction improves (faster, more accurate responses)

  • Team messaging becomes more consistent

Signs you need more training data:

  • Assistants frequently say "I don't have enough information"

  • Reps heavily edit AI drafts for accuracy

  • Same questions get asked repeatedly but assistants can't answer them

  • Inconsistent responses across team members

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