My clients are often eager to understand how to fit AI into their support ops. They’re usually hoping to improve efficiency to keep headcount down, rather than focusing on customer experience 🫠. FAQs are usually the first place I look to leverage an AI tool for these folks, but what I usually find is five little drop-downs of information shared everywhere else on their site, and nothing answering the questions customers are asking in their emails.
Your knowledge center is the foundation of your customer-facing support operation, and for AI, it’s the fuel that powers the engine. If this fuel is contaminated, outdated, lacking, or poorly organized, implementing an AI tool is kind of pointless. Remember:
🧠 AI Tools Learn from What You Feed Them: AI tools, like chatbots and article suggestions, depend on your existing knowledge base (or some knowledge content). When articles are inaccurate or inconsistent, it can lead to frustrating customer experiences and absolutely tank trust and retention.
🗑️ Garbage In, Garbage Out is Real: Implementing AI on a disorganized knowledge base is like building a tower on quicksand. The initial investment may seem like a win, but the long-term costs in terms of time, money, and customer satisfaction add up quickly.
📈 Maximizing AI's Potential: A clean, well-structured knowledge center helps your AI tool shine, serving up accurate responses and helping customers resolve their issues through self-service while, giving agents reliable information to use in their queue.
🖐️ It's a Pre-Requisite, Not an Afterthought: Fixing your knowledge base after implementing AI is reactive and exhausting. Taking the time to prepare proactively ensures a smoother launch and immediate value.
So. Before you sign that big ole annual contract, consider devoting time and resources to:
- Reviewing all of your articles for accuracy and relevance.
- Standardizing your language and formatting.
- Identifying and filling any content gaps.
This isn’t "busy work" - it's an investment that will absolutely influence the success and ROI of your AI strategy.
