In this guide, we'll explore how you can optimize your help center to enhance Emma's ability to answer customer queries accurately. Let's get started.
Step 1: Import and Audit Your Content
Before Emma can begin assisting customers, it needs content to learn from. Start by moving all customer-friendly content from internal resources into your Gist Knowledgebase.
Once you've imported this content, conduct a thorough audit to ensure all live articles are accurate and up-to-date. Split your articles into different product areas and assign each to the relevant team for review and update.
Step 2: Test the Emma with a Segment of Customers
Before introducing Emma to your entire customer base, test it with a smaller group. This will allow you to monitor its performance, identify gaps in your content, and make necessary adjustments.
Step 3: Identify Content Gaps and Top Performing Articles
Leverage your articles report to identify your top-performing articles - the ones with the most traffic and engagement. Make sure these articles are up-to-date and contain comprehensive information.
Next, look at the searches with no results tab in your articles report. Use this information to identify any content gaps and create new articles to fill them.
Step 4: Craft Content for Emma
When crafting new content or updating existing ones, consider the types of queries you want Emma to handle. Ensure the help content it can access provides all the relevant information for these queries.
Step 5: Optimize Your Content for AI Support
Remember, well-structured, customer-friendly content is key. Follow these best practices:
- Simplify language: Use full sentences instead of just 'yes' or 'no' answers. Think about how your users phrase questions and ensure the answer is phrased in a relevant way.
- Use scannable structure: Break up your text with tables, numbered lists, and bullet points. This will make your articles easier to read for both customers and Emma.
- Identify the target audience: Clearly state who the article is for. Emma will respect these audience rules during customer conversations.
- Audit for accuracy: Regularly check your articles for accuracy, especially after product updates.
- Explain key terms: Define acronyms and specialized terms.
Step 6: Prioritize Content Updates
Not all inaccuracies are created equal. Prioritize updates based on their importance.
For instance, articles with high traffic or those addressing major functional changes to your product should be updated first.
By following these six steps, you will be able to create a Help Center that not only serves your customers well but also aids your Emma in providing accurate and relevant responses.
Now, let's look at a few example writing strategies and tips that can help you write better content for both your customers and AI.
Writing Tips & Best Practices (With Examples)
Whether it's your customers or an AI like Emma reading your help articles, simplicity and clarity are key. But crafting AI-friendly content is more than just simplification - it's about understanding and anticipating both your customer's and AI's reading patterns.
To help you create better AI-compatible content, we've assembled a set of practical tips. These tips aim to improve the interpretability of your content by AI and deliver more accurate and useful responses to your customers. Now, let's dive into these guidelines with some examples.
Avoid ambiguity
By using clear, detailed language, you can help ensure that your Emma is better equipped to provide accurate and helpful answers to your customers.
About password resets:
Poor practice | Just click on "Forgot password". |
Good practice | You can reset your password by clicking on "Forgot password" on the login page and then following the prompts in the password reset email. |
About billing inquiries:
Poor practice | You can check it in your account settings. |
Good practice | You can check your billing history and upcoming charges by going to the "Billing" section in your account settings. |
About troubleshooting:
Poor practice | If it's not loading, try restarting. |
Good practice | If your app isn't loading correctly, try clearing your cache, restarting your device, and then relaunching the app. |
Restate questions
By restating the question in the response, you're ensuring that both the Emma and your customers have all the necessary context to understand the information provided.
About updating account information:
Poor practice | Can I change my account email? Just go to Account Settings. |
Good practice | You can change your account email by visiting the "Account Settings" page and clicking on the "Change Email" button. |
About feature availability:
Poor practice | Is document collaboration available for me? It's available for Pro users. |
Good practice | The document collaboration feature is available for all users with a Pro subscription. |
About software requirements:
Poor practice | Is my device compatible with your app? It needs at least Android 8.0 or iOS 12.0. |
Good practice | Our application requires a minimum of Android 8.0 or iOS 12.0 to run smoothly on your device. |
Use headers
By using headers and restating the header information in the text that follows, you're creating a clear structure that can be easily parsed by both AI and humans, ensuring that the important points are not missed.
About account settings:
Poor practice | You can change your account password from the "Account Settings". Also, if you wish to delete your account, you need to contact our customer service. |
Good practice | Changing your account password Deleting your account |
About software features:
Poor practice | You can create a new project from your dashboard, and if you want to invite team members, go to the project settings. |
Good practice | Creating a new project Inviting team members |
Use numbered or bullet lists
Using lists helps make your content more digestible for both customers and AI like Emma. It breaks down complex information into smaller, more manageable pieces, which are easier to understand and implement.
About password resets:
Poor practice | If you need to reset your password, you can do so by clicking 'Forgot Password' on the login page, entering your registered email address, and then clicking 'Reset Password'. You should then check your email for the password reset link and click on it to enter a new password. |
Good practice | Here are the steps to reset your password:
|
About subscription upgrade:
Poor practice | With our Premium Subscription, you get access to exclusive content, you have prioritized customer support, and you also receive free merchandise. |
Good practice | Here are some benefits of our Premium Subscription:
|
Don’t ask Emma to do math
The key here is to keep things as simple as possible, not just for the AI but for your customers as well. Over-complicating explanations or using too many numbers can cause confusion and lead to misunderstandings.
About delivery updates:
Poor practice | Our delivery process takes 1-2 business days for order processing, then 3-5 business days in transit, and finally the package should be delivered to you within 4-7 business days. |
Good practice | Our delivery timeline consists of three main steps:
Please reach out to customer support if your order hasn't arrived within this timeframe. |
About subscription upgrade:
Poor practice | Our Pro plan costs $20 per month, so that's $240 per year, and our Premium plan is $30 per month, so that's $360 per year. |
Good practice | Our subscription plans are billed monthly. The Pro plan costs $20 per month and the Premium plan costs $30 per month. A year-long subscription to the Pro plan will cost you $240, while the Premium plan will cost you $360 for the year. If you have questions about plan costs beyond this, please ask to speak to a representative. |
Include contact details
The practice involves clear delineation and specificity, which make it easy for customers and the AI bot to distinguish between different points of contact. This approach ensures clarity and lessens the likelihood of miscommunication.
About contact details:
Poor practice | If you have any inquiries, use the following: Billing: billing@example.com |
Good practice | For inquiries on different topics, kindly use the following contact details:
|
Use FAQ articles
Remember, providing answers to commonly asked questions within your articles and FAQ not only helps customers find information quickly but also allows AI bot to source and deliver those answers accurately.
Poor practice | Excluding these FAQs from your articles, leaving customers with unanswered questions that require reaching out to customer service. |
Good practice | What is your refund policy? Are there any hidden fees? |
In summary, effective Help Center content requires clarity and a structured layout, which benefits both your customers and AI like Emma. Keep the language concise, avoid ambiguity, and use headers and lists for improved scanability. With these strategies, your Help Center can deliver proactive, superior customer support, leveraging Emma's capabilities to their full potential. By anticipating and answering user queries efficiently, your support environment will meet and exceed customer expectations.