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Skills and Knowledge are the two ways you give Serval’s help desk agent what it needs to resolve a request. They are easy to mix up, so here is the rule of thumb.
A Skill is how the agent acts. Knowledge is what the agent knows.Skills are the playbook. Knowledge is the reference.
That “act vs. know” distinction is the whole thing. Everything else is just a signal for which side you’re on.

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The 5-second test

Ask: “Is this an instruction, or a fact?”
  • An instruction — “when X happens, do Y, then escalate to Z” → Skill
  • A fact — “the policy is X” / “the answer is Y” → Knowledge
Or the hiring-manager version:
Would you hand this to a new employee on day one? → Knowledge Would you use it to train your best support agent on how to handle a case? → Skill

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Both feed the agent — the difference is how

A common misconception is that Knowledge is “not for the agent.” It is — the agent searches your Knowledge Base on every relevant request. The difference isn’t agent vs. not-agent; it’s:
  • Skill — instructions the agent executes (behavior, procedure, when to run a workflow, internal routing the employee never sees).
  • Knowledge — facts the agent cites (and that a person could read and simply understand).
So write Knowledge so a human could read it and get it. The moment the content has to tell the agent how to behave — or references actions only the agent can take, like running a workflow — it’s a Skill.

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Examples

It’s a…Because it’s…Example
Knowledgea fact a person looks upPTO policy, laptop drop-off locations, office Wi-Fi password, benefits overview
Skilla procedure the agent runs”For Prod access requests, run the grant-prod-access workflow, then notify the security channel”
Knowledgereference, no action”Our VPN is Cisco AnyConnect; supported OSes are…”
Skillbehavior + an agent-only action”If a user reports VPN failure, check device posture, trigger reset-vpn-cert, then escalate to IT if it fails twice”

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The one-liner to remember

Knowledge is the textbook. A Skill is the playbook.
Still unsure? If it mentions a workflow the employee can’t run themselves, or relies on Serval-internal mechanics an employee wouldn’t understand, it almost certainly belongs in a Skill. If a new hire could read it and just know the thing, it’s Knowledge.

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