When to Use Knowledge Base
Knowledge base works best for information that already exists in written form and doesn’t require back-and-forth conversation.| Scenario | Why knowledge base works |
|---|---|
| Company policies | Agent quotes directly from official documentation |
| FAQs | Common questions get consistent, accurate answers |
| Reference material | Technical specs, contact lists, and lookup tables |
| Onboarding info | Benefits, office locations, and team structures |
Setting Up and Testing Your Knowledge Base
Connect a source
Navigate to Knowledge Base in the sidebar and connect one of the supported integrations:
| Source | What you can sync |
|---|---|
| Notion | Pages and databases |
| Confluence | Spaces and pages |
| Google Drive | Docs, Sheets, and PDFs |
| ServiceNow | Help center articles |
| Zendesk | Help center articles |
| SharePoint | Sites, document libraries, and files |
| Box | Files and folders |
Select content to sync
Browse your source’s folder structure and choose what to include:
- Select entire folders or individual files
- Exclude drafts, internal notes, or outdated content
- Changes in your source sync to Serval automatically
Only sync documentation you want the help desk agent to reference.
Test with sample questions
Before going live, verify the agent finds the right answers:
- Open a test ticket or use the Serval chat
- Ask questions your users would ask (e.g., “What’s our PTO policy?”)
- Confirm the agent returns accurate answers with links to the source document
- Adjust your synced content if answers are missing or incorrect
Managing Knowledge Sources from the Sidebar
The Knowledge Base section in the sidebar gives you a centralized view of all connected knowledge sources. From here you can:- View all sources — See every connected integration (Notion, Confluence, Google Drive, ServiceNow, Zendesk, SharePoint, Box) in one place
- Filter by sync status — Quickly find sources that are syncing, up to date, or have errors
- Trigger manual syncs — Force an immediate sync for any source instead of waiting for the automatic schedule
Permission-Respecting Answers
Serval respects document permissions from your connected knowledge sources. When a user asks a question, the help desk agent only returns answers from documents the user has permission to access. This ensures sensitive or restricted content is never surfaced to unauthorized users.Permission enforcement depends on the connected source supporting document-level permissions. Sources like Google Drive, Confluence, SharePoint, and Notion propagate their access controls to Serval.
Maintaining Your Knowledge Base
Toggle Visibility
Control whether each document is available to the help desk agent:| Status | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Visible | Agent searches this document and includes it in responses |
| Hidden | Document is synced but not used by the agent |
- Seasonal content outside of relevant periods
- Drafts under review that aren’t ready for users
- Deprecated policies you want to keep but not cite
Review Regularly
Outdated information erodes trust. Review knowledge base documents:- Quarterly for general accuracy
- Immediately after major policy changes
- When users report incorrect answers
Best Practices
Write clear titles
Help the agent match documents to questions. Use “Remote Work Policy 2025” not “Policy.”
Structure for search
Use headings that match how users ask. Put key info in the first paragraph of each section.
Include term variations
Add synonyms users might search: “PTO,” “paid time off,” and “vacation days” in the same doc.
One topic per doc
Focused documents perform better than 50-page handbooks. Split by policy or topic.
Keep content current
Review quarterly and after policy changes. Outdated answers erode trust.
Know what belongs elsewhere
Use workflows for automated actions, guidance for troubleshooting, access requests for provisioning.