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Manage customer agent knowledge sources

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Available with any of the following subscriptions, except where noted:

Knowledge sources are used by the customer agent to answer customers' questions. When you create the customer agent, you'll be prompted to upload the knowledge  sources it will use to generate responses. You can add, edit, or remove its knowledge sources at any time. 

You can also assign knowledge sources to specific customer agent segments to tailor the information the customer agent uses when responding to different visitors.

Please note: any content you add, whether private or public, can be used by the agent to draft responses. Private sources will not be cited, but their content may still appear in responses. As this content is shared publicly, do not include personal, confidential, sensitive information, or private customer data. 

Sprocket Co. is an ecommerce company that receives a high volume of queries on their return policy. 

They train customer agent by uploading their returns policy as a knowledge source. When customers ask questions about the return window for an item, the agent consults the knowledge source and explains the applicable requirements without needing to involve a representative.

This helps Sprocket Co. deliver faster, more consistent support while reducing repetitive questions for its customer service team.

When working with the customer agent, it's recommended that you use knowledge sources that:

  • Contain common user queries and comprehensive, up-to-date information. For example, FAQs and knowledge base articles.
  • Use clear headers and subheaders to organize content.
  • Include bullet points and lists for readability.
  • Use simple language and avoid overly complex sentences.
  • Incorporate common search phrases that customers are likely to use.
  • Include variations of key search phrases to improve response accuracy and cover more user search terms.

Add knowledge sources

  1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Service > Customer Agent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent directly.
  2. In the left sidebar menu, click Train > Knowledge.
  3. Click Add content in the top right. 
  4. Select a content type.  

    customer-agent-select-a-knowledge-source

  1. To sync HubSpot content, click From HubSpot.
  2. Select the checkbox next to the content you want to add. You can sync knowledge base articles, website pages, landing pages, and blogs.
  3. To have the customer agent use the knowledge source only when answering questions from specific visitors, click the Segments dropdown menu, then select a customer agent segment.
  4. Click Save.

  1. To sync external URLs, click Import from public URLs.
  2. In the Import public URLs field, enter a public URL. Then, click Add.
  3. To sync all associated pages on a domain, toggle the Import related URLs switch on. Up to 5,000 URLs within the domain will be automatically crawled and synced.
  4. To manage which pages are crawled, click the Which pages to import dropdown menu and select an option: 
    • All pages on this domain: crawls the domain and subdomain. For example, blog.zenplant.com/help includes zenplant.com, help.zenplant.com.
    • Pages matching this path: crawls only pages under the specified URL path. For example, zenplant.com/help includes zenplant.com/help/guides, zenplant.com/help/faqs.
    • This subdomain only: crawls only that subdomain. For example, help.zenplant.com excludes zenplant.com and blog.zenplant.com.
  5. In the Path filtering section, add paths to include such as /support/ or exclude, such as /blog/.
  6. To have the customer agent use the knowledge source only when answering questions from specific visitors, click the Segments dropdown menu, then select a customer agent segment.
  7. Click Add content.

Please note: the following file types are supported: .docx, .htm, .xhtml, .cfg, .pptx, .mpg, .conf, .mpeg, .csv, .json, .html, .text, .txt, .mp4, .pdf, .rst, .avi, .mov, .md, .webm, .xml, and .xls.

 

To sync new files:

  1. To upload a new file, click Upload a file:
  2. In the right panel, search for and select an existing file. Then, click Insert files.
  3. Click Next.
  4. To have the customer agent use the knowledge source only when answering questions from specific visitors, click the Segments dropdown menu, then select a customer agent segment.

To use existing files as knowledge sources:
  1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Service > Customer Agent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent directly.
  2. In the left sidebar menu, click Train > Knowledge.
  3. Click the files tab.
  4. In the top right, click Unused. 
  5. Select the checkboxes next to the files you want to sync.
  6. Click + Use as source.

  1. To create a short answer, click Create a short answer.
  2. Use the text boxes to enter the question and answer.
  3. Use the icons across the bottom of the editor to modify your text style, insert a link, or add an image. For example, you could add an image or diagram to help explain a process.

    customer-agent-short-answer
  4. To have the customer agent use the knowledge source only when answering questions from specific visitors, click the Segments dropdown menu, then select a customer agent segment.
  5. Click Add content.

Use AI to generate knowledge sources from your resolved tickets, inbox conversations, or uploaded files. AI will group the content into topics and generate Q&A pairs for you to review.

  1. To generate knowledge from tickets, inbox conversations, or uploaded files, click Generate knowledge.

  2. Follow the steps outlined in this article. 


Please note: the customer agent will be automatically re-synced if any updates are made to synced knowledge base articles. Other knowledge sources are automatically re-synced on a weekly basis.

Manage knowledge sources

Edit knowledge sources 

  1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Service > Customer Agent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent directly.
  2. In the left sidebar menu, click Train > Knowledge.
  3. At the top of the table, navigate between the tabs to select the source you want to edit, e.g., Knowledge Base, Website, Imported URLs. 
  4. To remove a knowledge source, in the table view, select the checkbox next to the source you want to remove, then click Remove as source.
customer-agent-remove-as-source-1
  1. To refresh the content, click Refresh. The content will be re-synced.
  2. To prevent the customer agent from citing the content, toggle the citations switch off. If you're using private content, citations will be automatically toggled off.

customer-agent-toggle-on-citations

  1. If you have imported related URLs, you can exclude specific URLs from refreshing. Once excluded, the agent will no longer use those URLs when generating responses. 

    • In the Imported URL tab, under the Related column, click + [X URLs]. 

    customer-agent-excluded-urls 

    • In the table, select the checkboxes next to the URLs you want to exclude, then click Exclude from refresh. 

    • To view excluded URLs, in the top right of the table, click the Excluded tab.

Apply knowledge sources to a customer agent segment

After creating customer agent segment, assign knowledge sources that are relevant to that audience. When a visitor matches a segment, the customer agent uses both its general knowledge sources and the sources assigned to the matching segment.

  1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Service > Customer Agent. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Service > Customer Agent directly.
  2. In the left sidebar menu, click Train > Knowledge.
  3. At the top of the table, navigate between the tabs and select the type of knowledge source you want to assign to the segment, e.g., Knowledge Base, Website, Imported URLs.
  4. Select the checkbox next to the source, then click Apply segment.

    customer-agent-apply-segment
  5. In the dialog box, click the dropdown menu and select an existing segment. To create a new segment, click + Add new segment.
  6. Click Save.

Learn more about using customer agent segments.

Review and troubleshoot content sync errors 

When syncing knowledge sources with the customer agent, you may encounter errors. Learn how to review the sync status of knowledge sources and troubleshoot common errors.
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