AI Routing allows Novus AI to recognize different types of member questions and handle them using specialized instructions and relevant information.
Instead of requiring one large set of AI Instructions to handle every possible situation, you can organize your support system into individual routes.
Each route represents a specific type of concern.
What Is an AI Route?
An AI Route is a configuration designed to handle a particular category of member questions.
For example, a community might create routes for:
General Support
Technical Support
Account Support
Payment Support
Products & Services
Community Programs
Events
Other specialized concerns
When a member asks a question, Novus AI can determine which route best matches the member's intent and use the appropriate configuration when generating its response.
Why Use AI Routing?
Without routing, your main AI Instructions may eventually contain rules for many unrelated topics.
For example, the same instructions might contain:
General support rules
Payment procedures
Technical troubleshooting behavior
Account support procedures
Event rules
Staff escalation instructions
As your configuration grows, this can become difficult to manage.
AI Routing allows you to separate these responsibilities.
Instead of one large configuration, each support topic can have its own focused instructions.
How Routing Works
When Novus AI receives an eligible Discord message, it analyzes what the member is asking.
The routing system compares the intent of the message with your configured routes.
For example:
Member: My launcher won't open after updating.
This may be handled by a Technical Support route.
Member: What payment methods are available?
This may be handled by a Payment Support route.
Member: What are the requirements to join your community program?
This may be handled by a Community Programs route.
The exact routes depend entirely on how you configure your Novus AI server.
Route Name
Each route should have a clear name that identifies its purpose.
Good examples include:
General Support
Technical Support
Payment Support
Account Support
Guild Support
Event Support
Avoid vague names such as:
Route 1
Other
Questions
Help
Information
Clear names make your configuration easier to understand and maintain.
Routing Description
The Routing Description explains what type of member message belongs to the route.
This is one of the most important parts of your route configuration.
For example:
Technical Support
Handles questions about installation, launcher problems, connection errors, missing files, crashes, and other technical issues.
A clear description helps Novus AI distinguish this route from other routes.
Route Instructions
Each route can contain instructions describing how Novus AI should handle that specific type of concern.
For example, a payment-related route may include instructions such as:
Only provide payment methods and procedures available in the provided information. Do not invent payment details. If the member requires transaction-specific assistance, direct them to the configured support process.
These instructions apply specifically to that route.
Your general AI Instructions can remain focused on behavior that applies across your entire assistant.
Route Knowledge
Routes can work together with relevant Knowledge Base information.
For example, a Technical Support route may need information about:
Installation
Common errors
Launcher troubleshooting
Manual patches
System requirements
A Payment Support route may need information about:
Available payment methods
Packages
Purchase procedures
Payment confirmation
Transaction support
Organizing information around the appropriate support topic helps create more focused responses.
General Instructions vs. Route Instructions
Your general AI Instructions and route instructions serve different purposes.
General AI Instructions
Define behavior that should normally apply everywhere.
Examples:
Be professional and helpful.
Respond using the member's language.
Do not invent unsupported information.
Keep responses clear.
Route Instructions
Define behavior for a specific type of concern.
Examples:
Technical issues should follow the troubleshooting procedure.
Account-specific problems should be escalated to private support.
Payment concerns requiring verification should be directed to the payment support process.
This separation keeps your AI configuration organized.
Avoid Overlapping Routes
Routes should have clearly distinguishable purposes whenever possible.
For example, creating:
General Support
and
General Questions
may create unnecessary overlap if both descriptions cover the same types of messages.
Instead, clearly define what belongs to each route.
If two routes regularly handle the same questions, consider whether they should be combined or whether their routing descriptions need improvement.
Example Route Structure
A community might use:
General Support
General questions about the community, features, guides, and information that do not require specialized support.
Technical Support
Installation, connection, launcher, client, application, and technical troubleshooting concerns.
Payment Support
Questions about purchases, available payment methods, packages, transaction procedures, and payment-related assistance.
Account Support
Registration, login, recovery, account access, and other account-related concerns.
This is only an example.
Your routes should match the actual needs of your community.
What Happens When No Route Matches?
Not every member message will perfectly match an existing route.
Your configuration should include appropriate behavior for questions that do not belong to a specialized route.
Depending on your setup, these questions may:
Use a general support route
Use general AI behavior
Trigger fallback behavior
Be directed to human support
Avoid creating dozens of unnecessary routes simply to cover every possible question.
Create specialized routes when a topic genuinely requires different information or handling.
Routing and Multilingual Questions
Members do not need to use the exact wording found in your Routing Description.
Novus AI can analyze the meaning and intent of a message.
For multilingual communities, routing can also work with questions written in different languages depending on the capabilities of your selected AI model.
You should still test your routes using the languages commonly used by your members.
When Should You Create a Route?
Consider creating a dedicated route when a topic:
Has its own support procedure
Requires special AI instructions
Uses specialized information
Requires different escalation behavior
Has strict rules about what the AI may provide
Receives many member questions
Should be clearly separated from general support
Not every Knowledge Base topic needs its own AI Route.
Routes are most useful when the AI needs to handle a type of concern differently.
Start Simple
You do not need many routes when first configuring Novus AI.
Start with the major types of questions your community receives.
For example:
General Support
Technical Support
Payment Support
Add more specialized routes only when necessary.
A smaller collection of clearly defined routes is usually easier to maintain than many overlapping routes.
Test Your Routing
After creating routes, ask realistic questions for each one.
Test:
Clear questions
Short questions
Informal questions
Questions that could potentially match two routes
Multilingual questions
Questions that should not match any specialized route
If Novus AI frequently chooses the wrong route, review your Routing Descriptions and make the differences between routes clearer.
AI Routing Improves Organization
AI Routing is not simply about categorizing messages.
Its main purpose is to allow Novus AI to apply the right behavior and information to the right type of concern.
A well-designed routing system can make your assistant easier to manage while providing more consistent support to your community.
Next Step
Now that you understand how AI Routing works, the next step is creating your first specialized route.
Continue to Creating an AI Route.