# Product Knowledge Q&A Assistant

> **Version 1.0.0 · Last updated 2026-10-22 · Difficulty: Beginner · Setup time: 30–60 minutes (plus time to gather documents)**

Your clone answers product questions from your company's own documents. It names the source, quotes specs exactly, and says "that's not in the documents" instead of guessing.

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## 1. Overview and value

Product knowledge lives in spec sheets, PDFs, FAQs and the heads of a few experts. Reps and agents interrupt those experts, answers differ from person to person, and customers wait.

With this use case you build one **org-level knowledge base** (so every clone in your organization can use it) and give your clone a small skill, **Product Q&A**. From then on, anyone can ask the clone a product question in web chat, Slack or Teams, email, by phone, or live in a meeting (via `joinMeeting`).

| Benefit | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Fast answers | Specs, compatibility, install steps and policy answers in seconds |
| Consistent answers | Everyone gets the same answer from the same documents |
| Sourced answers | Every answer names the document it came from |
| Honest gaps | Missing information is flagged, never invented |
| Safe by default | Internal-only pricing and margins stay away from external audiences |
| Fewer interruptions | Experts only see the questions the documents can't answer |

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## 2. Who it's for

- **Sales:** reps who need accurate specs and compatibility answers during calls and quotes.
- **Support:** agents answering installation, warranty and troubleshooting questions.
- **Customer Success:** CSMs answering "does it support...?" questions without waiting.
- **Marketing:** teams who want consistent product facts in copy and partner enablement.
- **Partners and customers:** if you choose to expose the clone to them (see audience rules).

## 3. How it works

```
 ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │  Your documents: specs, FAQs, guides, warranty, pricing       │
 │  (Google Drive / OneDrive / uploads)                          │
 └───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                                 │  upload by folder
                                 ▼
 ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │  ORG-LEVEL KNOWLEDGE BASE  (folders per product line)         │
 └───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                                 │  search_knowledge
 Question (chat, Slack/Teams,    ▼
 email, phone, meeting) ──► "Product Q&A" skill
                                 │
              ┌──────────────────┼───────────────────┐
              ▼                  ▼                   ▼
        Found in docs      Partly found        Not in docs
        short answer +     answer what is      say so, don't guess,
        source name        sourced, flag gap   offer {ESCALATION_CONTACT}
```

## 4. What the clone does (and never does)

**Does:**
1. Searches the knowledge base first, every time.
2. Answers briefly and accurately, and names the source document.
3. Quotes specs, part numbers and limits exactly as written.
4. Says "I couldn't find that in our documents" when it can't, and offers to route the question to `{ESCALATION_CONTACT}` by email or Slack/Teams.
5. Applies your `{AUDIENCE_RULES}` (for example internal-only pricing is shared only with internal staff).

**Never:**
- Guesses, or fills gaps with general knowledge or what competitors do.
- Shares internal-only pricing, margins or discount rules with external audiences.
- Makes commitments (delivery dates, custom pricing, warranty exceptions).
- Talks about the platform itself when asked about your products.

## 5. Setup walkthrough

Quickest path: give **CLONE-INSTRUCTIONS.md** to your clone and say: *"Please set up this use case. Show me a plan before changing anything."*

**Step 1: Gather documents (the long part).** Product docs, spec sheets, FAQs, installation guides, warranty and policy docs, and internal pricing sheets. Look early for documents from legacy systems or acquired product lines.

**Step 2: Scrub and name.** Remove confidential material that shouldn't be shared. Use clear file names and group files by product line or category. Get text versions of scanned PDFs.

**Step 3: Hand the instructions to your clone.** It checks what is connected and asks for the placeholders.

**Step 4: Create the org-level knowledge base.** The clone can do this with the `platform` tool, or you can use the Knowledge page. Make folders per product line or category. Keep internal-only material in its own clearly named folder (for example "INTERNAL ONLY - Pricing").

**Step 5: Upload.** Upload files in the Knowledge page, or ask the clone to pull files from Google Drive (GoogleDriveCoreOperator) or OneDrive (Microsoft_OneDrive) after you connect them.

**Step 6: Save the Product Q&A skill.** The clone saves it, or gives you a copy-paste block.

**Step 7: Run the test plan.** Ask 10 questions from your own documents and score them (see CLONE-INSTRUCTIONS.md section 8).

**Step 8: Roll out and schedule the monthly refresh.**

## 6. Placeholders to decide

| Placeholder | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| `{COMPANY_NAME}` | Your company name | "Acme Co" |
| `{KB_NAME}` | Name of the org-level knowledge base | "Product Knowledge" |
| `{PRODUCT_LINES}` | Folders to create | "Pumps, Valves, Controllers, Legacy" |
| `{ESCALATION_CONTACT}` | Person or channel for unanswered questions | "support-leads@yourcompany.com or #product-help" |
| `{AUDIENCE_RULES}` | Who may see what | "Internal staff: everything. Customers and partners: everything except the INTERNAL ONLY folder" |
| `{REFRESH_OWNER}` | Who receives the monthly refresh reminder | "you@yourcompany.com" |
| `{REFRESH_DAY}` | When the monthly reminder runs | "1st of the month, 9:00 AM America/New_York" |

## 7. What to expect

- **First answers within minutes** of the upload finishing.
- **Short answers** with a source name, for example "Max operating pressure is 150 psi (Source: Model X Spec Sheet)."
- **Honest "not found" replies** for things the documents don't cover, with an offer to escalate.
- **Slower but better** when you ask it to "check your knowledge first": it does a deeper search.
- **Monthly reminder** to refresh documents.

## 8. Customizing

- Add folders for new products or regions.
- Tighten or loosen `{AUDIENCE_RULES}` per channel (for example internal Slack vs a customer-facing chat).
- Add a tone line (formal, friendly) to the persona block.
- Add a "log this question" step in Salesforce or HubSpot (via HubspotEngagementOperator or SalesforceActivityOperator) if you want question tracking. Optional.
- Use `joinMeeting` so the clone can sit in sales calls and answer product questions live.

## 9. Known gotchas

1. **Load enough documents first.** With too few documents, the clone leans on general platform knowledge and talks about the platform instead of your products. Upload the full set before you test.
2. **Find legacy and acquired-product documents early.** Documents from legacy systems or acquired product lines are often the blocker. Ask for them in week one.
3. **Scrub confidential material before using with customers.** Remove margins, internal notes and unreleased roadmap, or keep them in an internal-only folder with `{AUDIENCE_RULES}`.
4. **Use clear file names and folders.** "ModelX-Spec-Sheet-2026.pdf" beats "final_v3.pdf".
5. **Scanned PDFs may need text versions.** If a PDF is an image, the clone may not read it. Provide a text or OCR version.
6. **Keep documents current.** Old documents give old answers. Use the monthly refresh and remove superseded files.
7. **For best accuracy, say "check your knowledge first."** It is slower but more accurate.

## 10. FAQ

**Can customers use it directly?** Yes, if you set `{AUDIENCE_RULES}` and scrub the documents. Test with the external audience rules before opening it up.

**Does it learn from conversations?** No. It answers from the documents. Add or update documents to change answers.

**Why is internal pricing in the knowledge base at all?** So internal staff get fast answers. The clone is told not to share it externally, but the safest approach for sensitive data is a separate internal-only clone or folder access.

**Do I need a CRM?** No.

**Can it answer by phone?** Yes, wherever the clone can talk or write, it uses the same skill.

## 11. Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Clone talks about the platform, not your product | Too few documents loaded | Upload the full document set; ask it to "check your knowledge first" |
| "Not found" for something you know is documented | Scanned PDF, vague file name, or wrong folder | Add a text version, rename, re-upload |
| Outdated answer | Old document still present | Remove or replace; run the refresh |
| Answer without a source | Skill not attached or not followed | Re-check the Product Q&A skill is attached |
| Internal pricing shown to an external person | Audience rules unclear | Tighten `{AUDIENCE_RULES}`, move pricing to an internal folder |
| Other clones can't see the documents | Knowledge base created at clone level | Recreate or move it to org level |

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*Product Knowledge Q&A Assistant · v1.0.0 · 2026-10-22*