AI agents for customer support · Part 4 of 14

Writing knowledge an AI agent can use

How to find the answers nobody wrote down, write each one so the agent can use it, and take your macros apart.

Aakash William
· 4 min read

The short version

Your agent can only answer from what you wrote down, and it often reads one piece of an article, not the whole page. Five steps get your knowledge ready for it:

  1. Find the answers nobody wrote down
  2. Write one answer per question
  3. Make every piece stand alone
  4. Take your macros apart
  5. Keep one answer, with an owner

Step 1Find the answers nobody wrote down

When your knowledge has no answer, the agent should hand the customer to a person (part 2). Each of those hand-overs names an article to write. So does every reply your team sends from memory, with no article behind it.

TodayNext time Customer asksAgent searchesFinds nothingA person answers Customer asksAgent searchesFinds the article a new questionyour knowledgeand hands overfrom memory the same questionyour knowledgeand answers alone Written down as an article with an owner

Today

The agent finds nothing

A customer asks a new question. The agent searches your knowledge and hands over.

↓

A person answers from memory

↓

Written down as an article

with an owner

↓

Next time

The agent finds the article

A customer asks the same question, and the agent answers alone.

Every hand-over for a missing answer is an article to write. Write it down once, and next time the agent answers alone.

Step 2Write one answer per question

Title each article with the question as customers ask it, and answer it in the first sentence. Then write out every condition: who it applies to, by when, and the exceptions. An agent can’t apply “usually”.

As often written Written for the agent Returns policy We usually accept returns on mostitems within a reasonable time. Some exceptions apply. Contact usfor details. Words an agent would have to guess usuallymost itemscontact us a reasonable timesome exceptions QuestionAnswerSteps Conditions Can I return a sale item? Yes, within 14 days of delivery,if it is unused. Items marked final sale: no returns.Personalised items: no returns. Start it from your order page.

As often written

Returns policy: we usually accept returns on most items within a reasonable time. Some exceptions apply. Contact us for details.

An agent would have to guess: usually, most items, a reasonable time, some exceptions, contact us.

Written for the agent

Question
Can I return a sale item?
Answer
Yes, within 14 days of delivery, if it is unused.
Conditions
Items marked final sale: no returns. Personalised items: no returns.
Steps
Start it from your order page.
The same policy twice, as an example. An agent can’t apply “usually” or “a reasonable time”, so write down each condition it would otherwise guess.

Step 3Make every piece stand alone

Many agents search your knowledge in small pieces and answer from the best matches. A piece that leans on the paragraph before it loses its meaning. So name the subject in every paragraph, and put in words what a picture or a table shows.

The articleWhat the agent reads Written to stand alone Changing your order Changing your order You can change the addressuntil the order is packed. After that, it can’t bechanged. Ask the courierto redirect it. After that, it can’t bechanged. Ask the courierto redirect it. the piece the agent finds After what?What can’t be changed? Once an order is packed,its delivery addresscan’t be changed. Ask the courier to redirectthe parcel. names its own subject

The article: Changing your order

You can change the address until the order is packed.

After that, it can’t be changed. Ask the courier to redirect it. the piece the agent finds

↓

What the agent reads

Changing your order: after that, it can’t be changed. Ask the courier to redirect it.

After what? What can’t be changed?

↓

Written to stand alone

Once an order is packed, its delivery address can’t be changed. Ask the courier to redirect the parcel.

An example. The agent finds the right piece, but “that” and “it” point to a paragraph it never read. Name the subject in every piece.

Zendesk describes its own generative AI this way: your articles are split into chunks, and each reply is written from the article’s title and the chunks that match best. Its guide asks writers to repeat the noun rather than write “it” or “they”.

Zendesk help, “Optimizing your knowledge content for generative AI”

Step 4Take your macros apart

A macro is written for a person who has just done something. It confirms an action, sets a tone, and often carries a note meant only for your team. Keep its facts as articles. Its limit is a rule (part 1, step 5), and the confirmation should come from the tool that acted.

Macro: refund for a damaged item Hi {name}, sorry it arrived damaged.I’ve refunded {amount} to your card. You’ll see it in 5 to 10 working days.Internal: up to €30, then the team lead. Leave it outA tool does itA rule An article set the tone once, in the agent’s settingsthe agent says so once it’s done (part 7)a limit, checked before it acts (part 8) a fact the customer needs

Macro: refund for a damaged item

Hi {name}, sorry it arrived damaged.

Set the tone once, in the agent’s settings.

leave it out

I’ve refunded {amount} to your card.

The agent says so once it’s done (part 7).

a tool

You’ll see it in 5 to 10 working days.

A fact the customer needs.

an article

Internal: up to €30, then the team lead.

A limit, checked before it acts (part 8).

a rule
One macro taken apart, as an example. Only one line is knowledge. The confirmation belongs to the tool that acts, and the limit is a rule.

In July 2025 Gorgias took macros out of its AI Agent’s knowledge. They had been potentially useful in fewer than 1% of the messages it answered, often led to inaccurate answers, and are “usually written as confirmation messages rather than guidance”.

Gorgias, product update, 23 July 2025

Step 5Keep one answer, with an owner

When your help center, your website and an old PDF all answer the same question, the agent may quote any of them. Keep one answer, delete the others or point them to it, and name who changes it on the day the policy changes.

Three answers to one question One answer, with an owner “How long do I have to return this?” Help centerWebsite FAQA PDF from 2024 30 days14 dayswithin a month The agent may quote any of them. AnswerOwnerLast checkedEverywhere else 30 days from deliverythe returns lead1 October 2026deleted, or links here

Three answers to one question

“How long do I have to return this?”

Help center
30 days
Website FAQ
14 days
A PDF from 2024
within a month

The agent may quote any of them.

↓

One answer, with an owner

Answer
30 days from delivery
Owner
the returns lead
Last checked
1 October 2026
Everywhere else
deleted, or links here
An example. When three sources disagree, the agent can’t tell which one is current. Keep one answer, and name who changes it the day the policy does.

Next in this series

Part 5: RAG for support teams, in plain words. See all 14 parts.

Where Himmel fits

The limits you take out of your macros are rules, not knowledge. With Himmel, your team confirms them in plain words, and the agent’s tool checks them before it acts.

Sources

  1. Zendesk help, “Optimizing your knowledge content for generative AI”, read on 19 October 2026.
  2. Gorgias, “Update: Macros aren’t used as a knowledge source for AI Agent”, 23 July 2025.

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