Answers
Answers are Command AI's primitive for giving Copilot instructions for how it should handle specific questions. Think of them as simpler alternatives to documents, or as quick fixes to handle specific scenarios before the source content itself can be updated.
Answers can be configured to be used verbatim, though we discourage using this setting too frequently as it cramps Copilot's style (by preventing it from doing what it does best -- personalizing the answer to the user, the page they are on, what they specifically asked, etc...)
You can add new Answers at Dashboard -> Content -> Answers.
The structure of an answer
Every answer consists of the following pieces
- Question: Answers are supposed to be answers to a specific question.
- Answer: The answer to the question. Try to keep this section short and punchy, since answers are supposed to be more digestible and skimmable than full-scale docs imported via a source.
- [Optional] CTA: A call-to-action that is associated with the answer.
Let’s do an example. Let’s say you want to make it super obvious to your users how to upgrade their account, because, I don’t know, you like making money. You might create an answer that looks like this:
- Question:
How do I upgrade my account?
- Answer:
You can upgrade your account from the "Subscription" page located in your account settings. You can either choose a different tier or add seats to your existing subscription.
- CTA:
Go there now
[when clicked, takes user to the page from which they can upgrade]
How Copilot uses Answers
By default, Copilot uses answers as training data. This way, when a user asks Copilot a question that is similar to an answer’s question
field, Copilot can respond in a way that incorporates the information from the provided answer, but in a way that is personalized to the user’s question and circumstance. This is the magic of using LLMs to power user assistance: you don’t have to provide canned, annoying chatbot-style questions; you can deliver each user a personalized experience.
For example, let’s imagine a user asks a question like “Where can I add seats to my account”
. If Copilot is trained on the answer above, then it might answer with
You can add seats to your account by visiting the "Subscription" page. From
here you can also move your account to a different tier.
CTA: "Add seats now"
As you can see, this is similar to the Answer; it uses the same information, but it is repackaged in a way that answers the user’s question precisely. Copilot prioritizes Answers over articles, because they tend to be more specific.
How to add an Answer in Command AI
You can add an Answer to Command AI at Dashboard -> Content -> Answers. Just provide a question, answer, and optionally a CTA. Then, to put the Answer into production, make sure you change its status to Published
.
Using answers verbatim
As a best practice, we recommend letting AI do what AI does best -- taking in fixed inputs and responding with flexible outputs that are matched to the user's question. That said, for especially sensitive subjects (e.g. what to say when a user asks about a refund) you may want Copilot to say something extremely specific. For this, we have Verbatim mode.
To turn verbatim mode on for an answer, toggle on the Use verbatim in Copilot responses
setting.