The Knowledge Base is where you store the information Novus AI needs to understand and assist your Discord community.
While AI Instructions define how your assistant should behave, the Knowledge Base provides the actual information the assistant can use when answering community-specific questions.
Building a clear and accurate Knowledge Base is one of the most important steps in creating a reliable Novus AI assistant.
What Is the Knowledge Base?
The Knowledge Base is a collection of information you provide to Novus AI.
It can contain information specific to your Discord community, project, service, game, organization, or other use case.
Instead of placing all of this information inside your main AI Instructions, you can organize it as Knowledge Base content that Novus AI can reference when answering relevant questions.
What Can You Add?
You can use the Knowledge Base for many types of information, including:
Frequently asked questions
Community information
Rules and policies
Guides and tutorials
Products or services
Prices and packages
Procedures
Event information
Account instructions
Troubleshooting guides
Commands
Important links
Community programs
Technical information
Other information members frequently ask about
The content you add should reflect the actual information your members need.
How Novus AI Uses Your Knowledge
When a member asks a question, Novus AI can use relevant information from your Knowledge Base to help generate its response.
For example, suppose your Knowledge Base contains:
Account Registration
Members can create an account using the registration page available on our official website.
A member may ask:
Where can I register?
Another member may ask:
How do I create an account?
Even though the wording is different, Novus AI can use the relevant Knowledge Base information when generating the answer.
This means your Knowledge Base does not need to contain every possible way a member might phrase the same question.
Knowledge Base vs. AI Instructions
Knowledge Base content and AI Instructions have different purposes.
AI Instructions define behavior.
Examples:
Be friendly and professional.
Do not guess missing information.
Respond using the member's language.
Escalate account-specific concerns to staff.
Knowledge Base provides facts and information.
Examples:
Registration instructions
Server rules
Service prices
Event details
Troubleshooting procedures
Frequently asked questions
Keeping these two types of information separate makes your Novus AI configuration easier to maintain.
Knowledge Base and AI Routing
AI Routing can help Novus AI determine which type of information and instructions are relevant to a member's concern.
For example, your configuration may contain separate routes for:
General support
Technical support
Account concerns
Purchases
Community programs
The Knowledge Base provides the information, while routing helps determine how different types of concerns should be handled.
This becomes especially useful as your Knowledge Base grows.
Write for Information, Not Keywords
You do not need to fill your Knowledge Base with long lists of possible keywords or questions.
Instead, focus on providing clear and complete information.
For example, instead of writing:
register, registration, create account, make account, account link
write useful information:
Account Registration
New members can create an account through the official registration page. After registration, they can use the same credentials to access the supported services.
Clear information gives Novus AI better context for answering different versions of the same question.
Keep Information Specific
Avoid vague Knowledge Base entries.
Instead of:
Contact staff if there is a problem.
Provide more useful information:
Account Recovery
If a member cannot access their account and the normal recovery process does not resolve the issue, they should create a support ticket for manual assistance.
Specific information helps Novus AI provide more useful responses.
Use Clear Titles and Sections
Organize longer Knowledge Base entries using descriptive titles and sections.
For example:
Donation Information
Available Payment Methods
...
Payment Confirmation
...
Missing Payment
...
This makes information easier to maintain and helps separate related topics.
Avoid Conflicting Information
Do not keep multiple Knowledge Base entries that provide different answers to the same question unless the difference is intentional and clearly explained.
For example, if one entry says an event begins at 7:00 PM while another outdated entry says 8:00 PM, the assistant may receive conflicting information.
When information changes:
Update the existing content.
Remove outdated information when appropriate.
Check related entries for conflicting details.
Test the updated question again.
Keep Time-Sensitive Information Updated
Some information changes frequently.
Examples include:
Events
Prices
Promotions
Schedules
Available services
Staff procedures
Temporary announcements
Review this information regularly.
If outdated information should no longer be used, update or remove it from your Knowledge Base.
Don't Add Information You Cannot Verify
Your Knowledge Base becomes a trusted information source for your assistant.
Only add information you are comfortable allowing Novus AI to use when answering members.
Avoid adding assumptions, rumors, unconfirmed schedules, or information that has not been approved for public use.
If something is tentative, clearly identify it as tentative.
Sensitive Information
Do not use your Knowledge Base as storage for secrets or private credentials.
Never add:
API keys
Passwords
Private authentication tokens
Payment credentials
Database passwords
Secret access links
Other confidential credentials
Knowledge Base content should contain information appropriate for the audience and purpose of your AI assistant.
More Knowledge Is Not Always Better
A large Knowledge Base is useful only when its information is accurate and organized.
Adding duplicate, outdated, unnecessary, or conflicting information can make your Knowledge Base harder to maintain.
Focus on quality rather than simply adding as much content as possible.
A smaller Knowledge Base containing accurate information is better than a large collection of unreliable content.
Start With Common Questions
If you are building your Knowledge Base for the first time, start with the questions your members ask most frequently.
A good starting point might include:
Basic community information
Frequently asked questions
Rules
Account or registration instructions
Important links
Common troubleshooting steps
Services or programs
Support procedures
You can expand your Knowledge Base as new questions appear.
Test Your Knowledge
After adding information, ask Novus AI questions related to the content you created.
Do not test only the exact wording you wrote.
Ask the same question in different ways.
For example:
Where can I download the client?
Can you give me the download link?
How do I install the game?
I need the client. Where do I get it?
Testing realistic questions helps you determine whether your Knowledge Base contains enough information for Novus AI to provide useful responses.
Improve Your Knowledge Base Over Time
Your Knowledge Base does not need to be completed before you begin using Novus AI.
Start with your most important information and expand it based on real member questions.
When Novus AI frequently cannot answer a legitimate question:
Review the question.
Verify the correct answer.
Add or improve the relevant Knowledge Base information.
Test the question again.
Over time, this process can significantly improve the usefulness of your AI assistant.
Next Step
Now that you understand how the Knowledge Base works, the next step is adding your first piece of information.
Continue to Creating Knowledge.