How much knowledge does the bot need to start with?

Less than most people think: the ten to twenty questions you get all the time, answered honestly. The rest grows through the list of unanswered questions.

What does the bot do with questions that are not in the knowledge?

A properly built bot says so openly and takes down the request with contact details, instead of guessing. Why that is the most important test when choosing a provider is explained on the page [When a chatbot makes things up](/en/chatbot-making-things-up).

Do we have to type in the knowledge ourselves?

When we set up your bot, we import your website for you, on every plan. Whatever is not on it, you add in the portal, and later you can re-import your website, PDFs and Word files there yourself.

Can customer data go into the knowledge?

No. Anything in the knowledge can become an answer for any visitor. Customer data, case details and anything personal do not belong in it; references only with written consent.

Guide

What belongs in your chatbot's knowledge

An AI chatbot is only as good as the knowledge it answers from. The technology behind it is similar at many providers; the difference between a bot that helps and one that dodges the question is almost always made when it is filled.

This page is the guide to doing that: which content belongs in it, in what form, what has to stay out, and how much upkeep there really is afterwards. It works whichever provider you end up choosing.

The right sources: you already have the knowledge

The good news first: you hardly have to invent anything. Every business already has the knowledge for a useful bot; it is just scattered.

Your website: services, prices, opening hours, directions.
The emails you write over and over: if you catch yourself giving the same answer three times a week, you have found a piece of knowledge.
Your terms and delivery conditions: deadlines, returns, payment methods, put into plain sentences.
The questions on the phone: have someone note down for a week what callers want to know.
Price lists and brochures, provided the details are current.

Gathering it all is the real work of setting up. We get you started: when we set up your bot, we import your website for you, on every plan. Whatever is not on it, you add yourself, and this page tells you what belongs in it.

The right form: answers, not brochures

Write answers to questions: A bot answers questions, so write the knowledge as answers: ‘A site visit costs nothing and takes about 30 minutes’ is useful. A promotional piece about the history of your company rarely is.
Specifics instead of vague statements: ‘We deliver quickly’ is something the bot can only repeat, and it does not help the visitor. ‘Items in stock are dispatched the same working day if ordered by 2 pm’ actually answers the question. Where you cannot commit, write down what it depends on.
On prices: decide deliberately what the bot says: You have three honest options: give a range, explain what the price depends on, or decide that the bot says nothing about prices and refers to a quote. All three are better than leaving the question unanswered; which one fits depends on your industry.
Write down the no as well: What you do NOT do, which areas you do not cover, what is not included in the price: these are exactly the answers that save the most unnecessary enquiries, and hardly any business writes them down.

What does not belong in it

Anything in the knowledge can become an answer for any visitor at all. That leads to a simple rule: the knowledge should only contain what you would also tell any stranger on the phone.

No personal data: no customer names, no case details, no references with real names without written consent.
No internal matters: purchase prices, margins, staff issues, login details. A bot is not a safe, it is a loudspeaker.
No promises you do not intend to keep: whatever is in the knowledge, the bot will commit to with full conviction.
Nothing out of date: an old price list in the knowledge is worse than none, because the bot does not know the difference.

Upkeep: a list shows you what is missing

No knowledge is complete at the start, and it does not need to be. What matters is the cycle afterwards: seeing what was asked and could not be answered, and adding exactly that.

With us, the customer portal keeps this list by itself: every question for which the bot found no answer in the knowledge appears there. After two weeks you know better than any survey what your visitors really want to know, and you add it in a few sentences. You can see what the portal looks like in the demo with sample data (in German).

Allow a few minutes a week for upkeep, a little more at the beginning. A bot that has not been touched for a year answers last year's questions.

Common questions about the knowledge

How much knowledge does the bot need to start with?: Less than most people think: the ten to twenty questions you get all the time, answered honestly. The rest grows through the list of unanswered questions.
What does the bot do with questions that are not in the knowledge?: A properly built bot says so openly and takes down the request with contact details, instead of guessing. Why that is the most important test when choosing a provider is explained on the page When a chatbot makes things up.
Do we have to type in the knowledge ourselves?: When we set up your bot, we import your website for you, on every plan. Whatever is not on it, you add in the portal, and later you can re-import your website, PDFs and Word files there yourself.
Can customer data go into the knowledge?: No. Anything in the knowledge can become an answer for any visitor. Customer data, case details and anything personal do not belong in it; references only with written consent.

Send us your ten most common questions.

We will tell you honestly how well a bot could answer them with the material you have today, and where something is still missing. We reply within 24 hours, in person.

Send an enquiry

Last checked: 4 October 2026