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A help article answers one question for everyone who asks it. Once it is public, visitors can find it from the chat on your website, and your website assistant answers from it. This guide writes Northwind’s first article, “How fast do you ship?”, and checks it in the chat on the live Northwind site.

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Open the knowledge base

Click Helpdesk in the left rail, then Agent at the top, then Knowledge base.
The Helpdesk tabs with the Agent menu open: Avery's memory, Knowledge base and Macros, with Knowledge base outlined

Knowledge base, in the Agent menu

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Write the article

1

Click New article

Click New article at the top right.
2

Fill it in

  • Title: the question, in your customers’ words.
  • Excerpt: one line that answers it. Visitors see it in the search results.
  • Body (markdown): the full answer. Short paragraphs and lists read best in the chat.
  • Tags: a few words that group related articles, separated by commas.
3

Make it public and publish

Set Visibility to Public (customer help center) and click Publish. Draft (only you) keeps it out of the chat and away from customers while you write (your team can still see it), and Internal (team only) is for your team and your helpdesk agent.
New KB article: the title How fast do you ship?, the excerpt, a short body with a list, Visibility Public (customer help center) and the Publish button, outlined

Northwind's article, ready to publish

The article is now in the list with a Public badge.
The Knowledge base with 1 public article: How fast do you ship?, tagged shipping and orders, with the Public badge, outlined

The published article

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See it in your website chat

Once you have a public article, the chat on your site shows Search for help on its first screen.
The open chat on the Northwind site, with the Search for help box outlined under Send us a message and Talk live

Search for help, in the Northwind chat

A visitor types a few words, picks the article and reads it without leaving the page. Still need help? Send us a message under the article starts a chat with your team.
The article How fast do you ship? open in the chat, with its text and list outlined

The article, as a visitor reads it

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Check that your assistant uses it

Open Helpdesk > Website assistant and ask a question the article answers in Try a question. The answer says where it came from.
Try a question: How long does shipping take? answered Every bag ships within 48 hours of roasting, with Answered from: Help article: How fast do you ship? outlined

Answered from the new article

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Good to know

  • Change it any time. Click the article in the list, then Edit, then Save. The chat and the assistant use the new text from then on.
  • One question per article. Put the answer in the first sentence, and use the words your customers use.
  • More: Help articles covers every setting, and Teach Your Website Assistant covers saved answers and business details.