Knowledge and research

Sources are the websites and files Tori can read to answer customer questions. Start with your website, then add other information such as your help center, product documentation, or an uploaded guide.

Adding a source gives Tori information to read. It doesn't train Tori to remember a set of answers. Tori looks for the information it needs when a customer asks a question.

How Tori uses your information

Tori can read several pages or files and work out how the information fits together. It can then use that information to answer questions your documentation doesn't cover directly.

For example, your documentation might explain two features separately. Tori can read about both and work out how a customer could use them together. It doesn't need a guide written for that exact situation.

This is different from guessing a company policy or promising a feature that your sources don't describe. Tori needs information from your company to support those answers. If it can't find an answer, it can ask your team for help.

Tori reads about your product. It doesn't try out the product, run your software, or check what happens in a customer's account.

Websites

Every agent needs at least one website source. Tori reads the starting page of each website source to get some background about your company. It can read other pages as it researches a question.

A website source makes pages under its URL available to Tori. Adding https://example.com/ also makes pages such as https://example.com/docs/ available. You don't need to add every page separately.

A source can also start at a particular part of a website. For example, https://example.com/help/ makes pages under /help/ available, but not pages elsewhere on that website.

Separate websites and subdomains need separate sources. If your homepage is at https://example.com/ and your documentation is at https://docs.example.com/, add both. A link from one site to the other doesn't give Tori access to the second site.

The same rule applies to links customers send in a conversation. Tori can read the linked page only if its URL is covered by a website source.

Tori can use a website's sitemap to find relevant pages. A sitemap is a list of pages on the site. Making a page available doesn't mean Tori reads it for every question. It chooses pages that seem relevant to what the customer needs.

Uploaded files

Files let you give Tori information that isn't on your website. For example, you could upload a product guide or a text file with answers to common support questions.

Tori chooses which files to read based on the question, the file names, and their descriptions. It doesn't read every uploaded file for every question.

What you can share with Tori

Customers aren't given direct access to the files you upload, but Tori can read them. Someone talking to Tori can persuade it to share information from those files, including information you've told it not to share.

Only give Tori information you would be willing to share with anyone who can talk to that agent. This applies to all sources and custom instructions. An instruction to keep something secret does not make it safe to give to Tori.

Source descriptions

A source description helps Tori decide when to read a source and how to use it. The source itself contains the detailed information.

A useful description explains what kinds of questions the source can answer. For example:

Contains our cancellation and refund policies. Read this for questions about cancelling an order or asking for a refund.

You can also explain when one source should take priority over another:

This guide covers version 2. For version 3, use the online documentation instead.

Source descriptions are different from custom instructions. A description guides how Tori uses one source during research. Custom instructions guide how Tori handles questions and conversations more generally.

If a source contains an old or incorrect answer, fix the source where possible. If you can't fix it yet, use its description to explain which information is wrong and where Tori should look instead.

Updating your information

Website changes

Tori browses your website directly. There is no retraining step. Simply update your website and Tori will automatically see the updated pages. In some cases it can take a few hours for Tori to see the new content.

File changes

Upload an updated copy when a file changes. Editing the original document on your computer doesn't change the copy you gave Tori.

Replace outdated information rather than keeping two sources that give different answers to the same question.

Correcting an answer

Telling Tori the correct answer in a conversation gives it information for that conversation. It doesn't update your sources or teach that answer to other conversations.

To make a correction available across conversations, update a source or add a custom instruction. A text file with common questions and their answers can be a useful source for information that isn't documented elsewhere.

Test the change in a new conversation. Ask the question without first telling Tori the answer. This checks whether Tori can find the information, rather than repeat what you just told it.

If Tori gives a wrong answer and you aren't sure why, contact us. You don't need to work out whether the problem is in your sources, your instructions, or Tori before asking for help.