AI Routes determine how different types of member concerns should be handled, while your Knowledge Base provides the information Novus AI can use to answer those concerns.
Understanding the difference between these two components helps you build a cleaner, more reliable, and easier-to-maintain AI support system.
How Routes and Knowledge Work Together
When Novus AI receives an eligible member message, the system can determine which AI Route best matches the member's concern.
The selected route provides specialized instructions for handling that type of question.
Relevant Knowledge Base information can then provide the facts needed to generate the response.
In simple terms:
AI Route = How the concern should be handled
Knowledge Base = What information is available
Both work together to produce the final response.
Example
Suppose a member asks:
How much is the Premium package and how can I purchase it?
A Payment Support route may be responsible for handling the concern.
The Route Instructions might say:
Use only verified package and payment information. Do not invent prices, package contents, payment methods, or transaction procedures.
Meanwhile, the Knowledge Base may contain:
Premium Package
Price: $10
Duration: 30 days
Purchase Procedure
Members can purchase the package through the available payment process.
The route defines the rules, while the Knowledge Base provides the actual facts.
Keep Facts in the Knowledge Base
Whenever possible, factual information should remain in your Knowledge Base rather than being copied into Route Instructions.
Examples include:
Prices
Package contents
Rewards
Dates
Schedules
Requirements
Rules
URLs
Commands
Procedures
Service information
Troubleshooting steps
This makes your information easier to update.
If a price changes, for example, you should ideally update the Knowledge Base rather than searching through several AI Routes for copies of the old price.
Keep Behavior in Route Instructions
Route Instructions should focus on what Novus AI should do with the information.
For example:
Use the available payment information when answering purchase questions.
Do not estimate prices when the requested information is unavailable.
Transaction-specific concerns requiring manual verification should be escalated to the appropriate support process.
These are behavioral rules rather than factual Knowledge Base content.
Avoid Duplicating Knowledge
Copying the same information into both the Knowledge Base and Route Instructions can create maintenance problems.
For example:
Knowledge Base:
Premium costs $10.
Route Instructions:
Premium costs $10.
If the price later changes to $15 but only the Knowledge Base is updated, the configuration now contains conflicting information.
A better Route Instruction would be:
Use the current Premium pricing available in the Knowledge Base. Do not invent or estimate the price.
Now the price only needs to be maintained in one place.
Organize Knowledge Around Real Topics
Your Knowledge Base should contain information based on the actual topics members ask about.
For a Technical Support route, useful Knowledge Base topics may include:
Installation
Launcher Problems
Connection Errors
Missing Files
Manual Updates
Common Error Messages
For a Payment Support route, useful topics may include:
Available Packages
Pricing
Payment Methods
Purchase Procedure
Payment Confirmation
Transaction Support
For a General Support route, useful topics may include:
Community Information
Rules
Guides
Events
Frequently Asked Questions
Important Links
Your exact structure should match your community.
Not Every Knowledge Entry Needs a Route
Knowledge Base topics and AI Routes do not need a one-to-one relationship.
For example, you may have separate Knowledge Base entries for:
Registration
Rules
Server Information
Commands
Guides
Events
All of these may still be handled through a single General Support route if they follow the same response behavior.
Create a separate route only when a topic requires different handling.
One Route Can Use Many Knowledge Topics
A route can handle many related types of information.
For example, Technical Support may cover questions involving:
Installation
Launcher
Updates
Missing files
Connection
Crashes
You do not necessarily need a separate route for each technical topic.
If they all follow the same support procedure, keeping them under one Technical Support route is usually easier to maintain.
The Same Knowledge May Be Relevant to Different Questions
Members can ask about the same information from different perspectives.
For example:
What is included in Premium?
and:
I want to purchase Premium. What do I get?
Both questions may require the same Premium Knowledge Base information.
Your routing configuration determines how the overall concern should be handled, while the Knowledge Base remains the factual source.
Knowledge Does Not Replace Routing Instructions
Having accurate Knowledge Base information does not automatically define how the assistant should behave.
Suppose your Knowledge Base contains payment information.
Without appropriate instructions, the AI may not know that transaction-specific verification must be handled by staff.
This behavior belongs in your Route Instructions.
Knowledge provides the information.
Instructions provide the rules for using that information.
Routes Do Not Replace Knowledge
The opposite is also true.
A detailed Route Instruction cannot provide accurate community-specific answers if the required factual information does not exist.
For example:
Route Instruction:
Provide the correct package price from the available information.
If no package price exists in the Knowledge Base, Novus AI should not invent one.
Your fallback or escalation behavior should handle the missing information.
Handling Missing Knowledge
Route Instructions should define what happens when required information is unavailable.
For example:
If the requested community-specific information is not available, do not guess or estimate. Use the configured fallback or direct the member to the appropriate support process.
This is particularly useful for topics involving:
Payments
Prices
Account procedures
Rules
Rewards
Events
Eligibility
Technical instructions
Handling Conflicting Knowledge
If multiple Knowledge Base entries contain different answers to the same question, correct the Knowledge Base rather than attempting to solve the conflict through Route Instructions.
For example:
Entry A: Premium costs $10.
Entry B: Premium costs $15.
Determine which value is current, update the appropriate entry, and remove outdated information.
Your Knowledge Base should remain the reliable source of factual information.
Keep Knowledge Current
Routes can only provide reliable responses when the underlying information remains accurate.
When your community changes:
Update the relevant Knowledge Base information.
Check for duplicate or conflicting entries.
Review whether the Route Instructions still match the current procedure.
Test the affected questions.
This is especially important after changing prices, rules, services, support procedures, or event information.
Test Routes and Knowledge Together
Do not test routing and Knowledge Base information only in isolation.
Test complete member questions.
For example:
How much is Premium?
Tests factual Knowledge.
How can I purchase Premium?
Tests Knowledge and route behavior.
I already paid but haven't received Premium.
Tests routing, Knowledge, and potentially escalation behavior.
Can you manually verify my payment?
Tests whether the route follows restrictions around manual verification.
This gives you a better picture of how the complete support flow behaves.
Diagnose Problems Correctly
When Novus AI gives an incorrect response, identify the source before making changes.
Wrong route selected?
Review the Routing Description.
Correct route but wrong behavior?
Review the Route Instructions.
Correct behavior but wrong factual information?
Review the Knowledge Base.
Required information is missing?
Add or update the Knowledge Base.
AI invents information when nothing is available?
Review fallback and no-guessing instructions.
Making changes in the correct area keeps your configuration organized.
Recommended Structure
For most routes, use this structure:
Routing Description
Defines what type of concern belongs to the route.
Route Instructions
Defines how Novus AI should handle that concern.
Knowledge Base
Provides the facts and information required to answer the concern.
Fallback / Escalation
Defines what happens when the available information cannot resolve the concern.
Keeping these responsibilities separate makes your Novus AI configuration easier to maintain as your community grows.
Next Step
Your routes can now identify member concerns, apply specialized instructions, and use your Knowledge Base for factual information.
The next step is defining what should happen when a route cannot fully resolve a member's concern.
Continue to Route Fallback & Escalation.