What to Put in Your Chatbot's Knowledge Base: A Checklist
By Karla, founder of Proxxie · How-to · · Updated
An AI chatbot can only answer from what you give it. Your knowledge base should cover your hours, location or service area, services (and what you don't offer), pricing or how quotes work, policies, what happens after someone reaches out, and the 20 questions customers ask you most. Write each fact in plain, short sentences.
Most chatbots that "don't work" aren't broken. They're missing information. When a visitor asks something the bot can't find, a good bot says it doesn't know and offers to pass the question to you. That's honest, but every "I don't know" is a customer who might leave. This checklist closes those gaps.
Why the knowledge base matters more than the chatbot
A modern AI chatbot doesn't follow a script. It reads your content and answers in its own words. That makes it flexible, but it also means the quality of its answers depends almost entirely on the quality of what you give it.
Two businesses using the same chatbot can get very different results. One pasted in a single paragraph from their homepage. The other wrote down the questions customers actually ask. The second one's bot sounds like it works there.
The checklist
1. The basics
- Business hours, including weekends and holidays
- Address, or the areas you serve if you go to customers
- Phone, email, and the best way to reach you
- Parking, entrances, or anything people ask about arriving
Tip: write hours as full sentences. "We're open Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday 9 AM to 1 PM. We're closed Sundays." is clearer than a table copied from your website.
2. Your services, and what you don't do
- Each service in one or two plain sentences
- Who each service is for
- What you don't offer. This is the most skipped item and one of the most useful. "We don't do commercial properties" saves a visitor from waiting on a call that won't help them.
3. Pricing, or how pricing works
You don't have to list exact prices, but say something:
- Starting prices or typical ranges, if you're comfortable sharing
- How quotes work ("We give free estimates after a short visit")
- Payment methods, and financing or insurance if relevant
If pricing isn't in your knowledge base, the bot can't answer the question visitors ask most.
4. Policies
- Cancellation and rescheduling
- Warranties or guarantees
- Deposits, refunds, late fees
- Anything customers often misunderstand
5. What happens next
Visitors want to know how to move forward. Tell the bot:
- How people book or request service ("Call us, or leave your name and email and we'll reach out within one business day")
- How quickly you usually respond
- What information you'll need from them
Be exact about what the bot itself can do. If it can't book appointments, don't imply it can. Say what actually happens.
6. The 20 questions you hear most
This is the highest-value part of the whole knowledge base. Spend 15 minutes listing the questions you answer over and over, and write your answer to each.
Places to find them:
- Your sent emails and texts
- Questions left on your Google Business Profile
- Your reviews (people often mention what they wanted to know)
- Whoever answers your phone
7. The words your customers use
Customers rarely use industry terms. A dental patient asks about a "cleaning," not "prophylaxis." A homeowner asks about a "leak under the sink," not a "P-trap." Include everyday phrasing alongside technical terms so the bot matches what people actually type.
What to leave out
- Private information: staff personal numbers, internal notes, anything you wouldn't say publicly
- Expired promotions and old prices
- Promises you can't keep every time ("same-day service" if it's only sometimes true)
- Contradictions: if your website says one thing and your FAQ another, fix the source first
How to write it so the bot understands
- One fact per sentence. Short beats clever.
- Say it plainly, the way you'd say it on the phone.
- Include dates for anything seasonal ("Holiday hours for December 2026: ...").
- Don't rely on formatting. Tables and symbols copied from a website sometimes lose their meaning. Full sentences always survive.
- One topic per source. Short, focused entries are easier for the chatbot to find than one long page. If a page covers prices, hours and your refund policy, split it into three.
- Prose for tone, lists for steps. Content written as a flowing explanation produces conversational answers; numbered lists invite the chatbot to recite them. Keep lists for things that really are lists, like steps to follow.
Test it before visitors do
Before the chatbot goes on your site, ask it 10 real questions from your list. For each answer, check:
- Is it correct?
- Is it complete?
- Did it say "I don't know" when it should have?
Every wrong or missing answer shows you exactly what to add. In Proxxie, use Test Mode, which works before the chatbot is on your website. If the chatbot says it doesn't have information that is in your knowledge base, rewrite that entry as a direct question and answer, using the words a visitor would use.
Keep it current
Review your knowledge base once a month, and any time you change hours, prices, or services. Set a calendar reminder. An outdated answer is worse than no answer.
Copy-and-paste template
ABOUT US
[Business name] is a [type of business] in [city/area]. We help [who] with [what].
HOURS
We're open [days and times]. We're closed [days]. Holiday hours: [details].
LOCATION / SERVICE AREA
[Address] OR We serve [list of areas]. We don't serve [areas outside].
SERVICES
- [Service]: [one or two sentences].
- [Service]: [one or two sentences].
We don't offer [things people ask for that you don't do].
PRICING
[Starting prices / ranges] OR [how quotes work]. We accept [payment methods].
POLICIES
Cancellations: [policy]. Warranty: [policy]. Deposits: [policy].
HOW TO GET STARTED
To book or request service, [exact steps]. We usually respond within [time].
COMMON QUESTIONS
Q: [question]
A: [answer]
(repeat for your top 20)Frequently asked questions
How long should a chatbot knowledge base be?
Long enough to cover the checklist above. For most small businesses that's one to three pages of plain text. More is fine as long as it's accurate and doesn't contradict itself.
Can I just give the chatbot my website URL?
Usually, yes, and it's a good start. But websites rarely include your top questions, your full policies, or what you don't offer. Add those separately.
Should I include prices?
If you can, yes. Pricing is one of the most common questions visitors ask. If you can't share exact numbers, explain how pricing works.
What happens if the answer isn't in the knowledge base?
A well-set-up AI chatbot should say it doesn't know rather than guess. The best ones then offer to take the visitor's name and email so you can follow up personally.
Can a chatbot book appointments?
Some can, if they're connected to a booking system. Many, including Proxxie, answer questions and save the visitor's name and email so you can follow up. Check exactly what your chatbot does before telling customers it can book.
Try it with your own business. Proxxie builds an AI chatbot from your content. Paste in your information or add pages from your website, test it, then add it to your site with one line of code. Start your free 14-day trial. No credit card required.