Within the Knowledge Hub in Intercom, you can create various types of content to effectively address the needs of both your teammates and your customers. These content types can also be used to power Fin AI Agent and Fin AI Copilot.
The following guide explains the different types of content you can create natively in Intercom and when to use them:
For an overview of which content types can be created in Intercom, enabled for Fin, or added to the Help Center, see this table.
Internal articles
Internal articles are designed for your support team and Fin AI Copilot. These articles contain detailed information that aids teammates in troubleshooting, problem-solving, and providing exceptional customer support.
Content characteristics
Detailed technical information: In-depth explanations of internal processes, troubleshooting steps, and system tools.
Procedures and protocols: Step-by-step guides for handling specific support scenarios, including escalation procedures.
Internal tools usage: Instructions on how to use internal tools and software for their role.
Confidential information: Includes sensitive information that should not be shared with customers but is necessary for teammates to be aware of.
When to use
When there is a need for comprehensive information to solve complex issues.
When training or onboarding new support team members on internal processes and tools.
When documenting standard internal processes and protocols.
Example
Title: "Troubleshooting payment gateway issues"
Content: Detailed steps on diagnosing and resolving payment gateway errors, including log file analysis and how to communicate with customers.
Teammates can search and view internal articles inside the Knowledge Hub, however, they can’t be added to your public Help Center.
Public articles
Public articles are meant for your customers, and can be used by Fin AI Agent and Fin AI Copilot. These articles provide information that primarily helps your customers understand and use your product or service effectively and they can be added to your public Help Center.
Content characteristics
Product information: Detailed descriptions of product features, benefits, and use cases.
How-to guides: Step-by-step instructions for common tasks and troubleshooting common issues.
FAQs: Answers to frequently asked questions.
Best practices: Recommendations on how to get the most out of your product or service.
When to use
When providing customers with self-serve resources to resolve their queries.
When educating customers about new features or updates.
When creating a Help Center for customer reference.
Example
Title: "How to set up your account"
Content: A comprehensive guide for new users on setting up their account, including screenshots and step-by-step instructions.
Snippets
Snippets are short-form pieces of information intended to improve answer quality and coverage for Fin AI Agent and Fin AI Copilot. They are used to store information you may not want publicly available in your Help Center, but you’d still like to provide customers/teammates with the information if they ask.
Content characteristics
Brief answers: Quick responses to specific questions.
Bug handling: Short notices about a current bug and advice for the customers/teammates who experience it.
Time sensitive information: Brief details about an upcoming webinar, training program, etc. and how to access them.
When to use
When addressing common customer queries that don’t require detailed explanations.
When explaining a current bug or issue that should not be searchable in your public Help Center and not applicable to all customers, but would be useful for Fin to answer specific customer queries.
When you need to enable Fin on some timely information which will need to be deleted at a later date.
Example
Title: “Why can’t I duplicate projects anymore?”
Content: We are currently experiencing a bug with duplicating projects from the “Duplicate” button on the project page and we’ll have it fixed soon! In the meantime, you can still duplicate your project from the “Overview” page by clicking on the dropdown next to your project.
Public articles are more scalable than snippets in terms of maintenance and are weighted equally in Fin’s answers, so if the information can live somewhere public and needs to be accessible to Fin, we recommend adding the information to a public article.
Custom Answers
Custom Answers can be used by Fin AI Agent, however they can’t be created or managed from the Knowledge Hub.
Content characteristics
Answer specificity and priority: A Workflow can be set up for Fin AI Agent to use these Custom Answers to resolve specific questions a customer asks at the start of a new conversation, and Fin will prioritize them over its AI Answers.
Conditional answers: Use conditional rules in Workflows such as “If the customer is X, give Y answer, else give Z answer”.
Media compatibility: You can include rich media such as images and videos.
Advanced integrations: You can use Custom Actions, Custom Objects and/or Custom Apps in the Workflow to fetch external data and take actions like finding a customer’s order and processing a refund.
Proactive support: They can also be used to suggest answers in the Messenger, before or while a customer is typing.
When to use
When building very specific and targeted answers for increased accuracy and consistency. For example, if you need Fin to deliver exactly the same response to a particular query every time, Custom Answers will let you do that. Whereas, when Fin uses articles or snippets it can rephrase a response to the same question each time it's asked. Note: We find this discrepancy to be acceptable in most cases because the answer is still accurate, it just may be more detailed in one conversation compared to another, or it may include a helpful link in one answer and not the other.
When you want to create answers that include rich media or use Custom Actions, Custom Objects and/or Custom Apps.
Example
The following is an example of a Workflow which uses a Custom Answer and then follows up with a Custom Action:
Customer: “Can I reschedule a delivery?”
Custom Answer: “You can reschedule a delivery up to 24 hours before the delivery time. Would you like to reschedule your delivery?”
Customer: “Yes” (reply button)
Custom Action: “Fetching your orders now… Please pick a new delivery slot: [10:00] [12:00] [15:00].” (reply buttons)
*Customer selects [15:00]*
Fin: “Your delivery has been rescheduled!”
Check out this community thread 👀 where we look at the difference between using snippets and Custom Answers.
Macros
Macros can be used by teammates and Fin AI Copilot, however they can’t be created or managed from the Knowledge Hub.
Content characteristics
Answer specificity: Create a direct answer or response to a common customer query (Fin will maintain the wording and structure by surfacing the exact macro).
Media compatibility: Include rich media such as images and videos.
Follow-up actions: Automatically trigger actions such as closing or tagging a conversation.
Availability: Control which macros are available to certain teams.
Outbound, inbound & internal: Macros can be used for starting conversations, replying, and/or adding internal notes.
When to use
Common step-by-step instructions to be shared with customers.
When specific phrasing is important (e.g. when handling sensitive queries or passing/escalating conversations).
Notes to work through an internal process (e.g. a template for troubleshooting an issue).
Example
The following is an example macro to smoothly pass a conversation from the Support team to the Sales team, ensuring a professional handover while managing customer expectations.
Title: Passing from Support to Sales
Content: Hi [Customer Name],
Thanks for reaching out to us!
I understand you're interested in [insert product/service]. To ensure you receive the best assistance and detailed information, I'll connect you with our Sales team. They specialize in providing in-depth details about [pricing, customization options, product features, etc.] and will be able to assist you further.
[Sales Representative's Name] from our Sales team will be in touch with you shortly. In the meantime, if you have any additional questions or need further assistance, feel free to reply here 😃
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