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If your documentation already lives in a supported app, connect it as a knowledge source. Serval syncs the content read-only, keeps it up to date automatically, and the help desk agent searches and cites it — linking users back to the original document.

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Supported sources

Content in a system that isn’t listed here? If it has an API, you can still bring it in — see Building Custom Ingestion Workflows.

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Setting up a connected source

1

Connect the app integration to your team

Before you can sync content, the documentation app must be installed as an integration on your team.
  1. In Serval, go to Teams and select your team
  2. Navigate to Integrations → Available
  3. Find the app you want to use (for example, Confluence, Notion, or Google Drive) and click Connect
  4. Complete the authorization flow - this typically involves signing in to the app and granting Serval access
For detailed setup instructions, see the integration guide for your app: Notion, Confluence, Google Drive, Microsoft 365, or the full Integrations overview.
You only need to connect each app once per team. If a teammate has already connected the app, you can skip this step.
2

Add the app as a knowledge source

Once the app is connected, add it to your knowledge base:
  1. In the sidebar, open Knowledge Base
  2. Click Add source and select the connected app
  3. Browse folders, spaces, or pages in the app and choose what to include
Only sync documentation you want the help desk agent to reference. Exclude drafts, internal notes, or outdated content.
3

Test with sample questions

Before going live, verify the agent finds the right answers:
  1. Open a test ticket or use the Serval chat
  2. Ask questions your users would ask (for example, “What is our PTO policy?”)
  3. Confirm the agent returns accurate answers with links to the source document
  4. Adjust synced content or filters if answers are missing or incorrect
4

Go live

Once testing confirms accurate responses, your knowledge base is ready. The agent searches it automatically when users submit help desk requests.

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Document permissions

Serval respects document permissions from the source app when the integration supports propagating access controls (Google Drive, Confluence, ServiceNow, and Zendesk, among others). The agent only surfaces a document to a user who is allowed to see it in the source system.

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Managing connected sources

The Knowledge Base section in the sidebar gives you a centralized view of every knowledge source. From here you can:
  • View all sources - Connected apps, custom ingestion sources, and published Serval-authored content in one place
  • Filter by sync status - Find sources that are syncing, up to date, or in an error state
  • Trigger manual syncs - Run an immediate sync instead of waiting for the next scheduled run (connected sources automatically sync every four hours)

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Toggle visibility

Control whether each synced document is available to the help desk agent: How to toggle visibility:
  1. Open the Knowledge Base tab in the sidebar
  2. Click Manage Sources
  3. On the integrated app, click Choose items to sync
  4. Check the sources you want the agent to reference and uncheck the ones you want to hide
This does not remove the sync connection - hidden documents stay synced but are excluded from agent responses. When to hide documents:
  • Seasonal content outside of relevant periods
  • Drafts under review that are not ready for users
  • Deprecated policies you want to keep but not cite
For pages authored in Serval, use the draft/publish model instead — unpublished pages are never searched by the agent. See Drafts, publishing, and versions.

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Review regularly

Outdated information erodes trust. Review knowledge base documents:
  • Quarterly for general accuracy
  • Immediately after major policy changes
  • When users report incorrect answers

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Learn more