Write effective FAQs
1
Use a customer-shaped question
Write the phrase people actually ask, including the product or action when ambiguity is possible.
2
Make the answer self-contained
Include the direct answer, necessary constraints, and the next action. Avoid references such as “as above” that depend on page layout.
3
Separate distinct intents
Do not combine billing, security, and troubleshooting in one pair. Smaller intents produce cleaner semantic matches.
4
Index and test paraphrases
Ask the widget several natural variants and confirm the expected FAQ wins over similar entries.
Fast-path behavior
For question-like messages, the agent embeds the text and searches the organization’s FAQ vectors for one top result. A similarity score of0.85 or higher and a non-empty stored answer cause the pipeline to publish that answer directly.
The threshold favors precision over recall because the response bypasses model reasoning. Lower-scoring FAQs can still contribute through normal tool-based retrieval.
Maintenance
- Review unanswered-question records for missing FAQ candidates.
- Consolidate near-duplicates that compete for the same query.
- Include dates or plan scope where policy changes over time.
- Reindex after edits and test both the direct answer and nearby negative cases.
- Remove answers that require real-time account data; use verified tools instead.