Knowledge base
Your agent needs context to answer customer questions accurately. Stellar gives you several places to put that context: reusable knowledge documents, short source information, state-specific instructions, and actions that fetch live data.
Choose where knowledge should live​
Different types of knowledge belong in different places. The main trade-off is whether the agent should always carry the information, search for it only when relevant, or fetch it live from another system.
| Use this | Best for | Avoid when |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge documents | Longer reference material, shared content, policies, product details, troubleshooting guides, and FAQs the agent should search when needed | The information must shape every response or it changes in real time |
| Source Information | Short, always-on facts for one agent, such as company context, support hours, or top-level constraints | The content is long, detailed, or should be reused across many agents |
| State instructions | Details that only apply in one dialogue step, such as billing rules in a billing support state | The same information is useful throughout the conversation |
| Actions | Live, customer-specific, or frequently changing data from your own systems | The answer is static and can live in written content |
A full returns policy is usually a knowledge document. Support hours can live in Source Information if they are short and apply to one agent. Billing-only refund instructions fit better in a billing state. A question like "Where is my order?" should usually call an action, because the answer depends on the customer and changes over time.
Add reusable knowledge​
Use knowledge documents for reusable content that can be searched during a conversation without putting the full text into every response. This is the right place for longer or shared material: help center articles, policies, product specifications, troubleshooting guides, internal procedures, and larger FAQ sets.
Navigate to Organization > Knowledge and click New document. Choose Blank document to write the content yourself, or choose Synced from URL to import an existing public webpage.
Each document has a title, a short summary, the content itself, and any labels you've attached. Labels help you group related documents together so you can attach them to agents in bulk. For example, you might create a "Returns policy" label and attach it to several documents that cover different return flows.
Creating a document does not automatically make it available to every agent. After creating documents, open an agent's Knowledge tab and toggle Use knowledge documents. Select the labels or individual documents that agent can use. If you select a label, the agent can access documents with that label, which keeps multiple agents in sync as you add or update related documents.
During a conversation, the agent can search and retrieve relevant content from the documents it can access. Use this for static or slowly changing information. Do not use knowledge documents for per-customer account data, inventory, appointment availability, or other fast-changing information; use an action for that instead.
To help your agent consistently reference its knowledge base, mention it in the agent's personality instructions. For example: "Always consult your source information and knowledge documents before answering customer questions."
Sync content from a URL​
A synced document is still a knowledge document. The difference is how its content is maintained: it tracks a public URL, such as a help center article or product page. Stellar imports the page as markdown, checks it once a day, and shows you upstream changes before applying them. Manual edits you make in Studio stay in the document across syncs.
Open Organization > Knowledge, click New document, choose Synced from URL, paste the URL, and click Import and sync. While the page imports, you'll see progress on the document page. Once the import finishes, you can review the content, attach labels, and edit the generated summary.
The sync panel at the top of the document shows the current state:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Synced | The most recent sync succeeded |
| Update available | The source page changed and a preview is waiting for review |
| Syncing... | A sync is in progress |
| Sync issue | The last sync failed |
| Source removed | The source URL no longer returns a usable page |
When an update is available, your agent keeps using the previous document content until you apply the update. Click Review update to compare your current document with the proposed update. Green highlights text added by the source page, red highlights text removed by the source page, and soft blue highlights content you added manually in Studio.
Each block of changes has a checkbox in the gutter. Use Reject all, Accept all, or Apply selection to decide which changes to keep. Apply selection is the only action that modifies your document. If you leave the review screen without applying, the update remains pending and your agent keeps using the previous version.
The History button opens a timeline of previous syncs. Each entry shows the status and timestamp, and you can expand entries to inspect changes or view error messages.
Use Source Information for short context​
Source Information is a text field on the agent's Knowledge tab. Use it for compact information that should always be available to the agent, such as a company description, support hours, essential constraints, or short answers to the most common questions.
Keep Source Information concise. It is injected into the agent's context on every turn, so long policies or extensive product catalogs should usually be knowledge documents instead. If the same text needs to be reused by multiple agents, create a knowledge document and attach it to those agents rather than copying it into each agent's Source Information.
# Product Information
Our main product is CloudSync, a file synchronization service for businesses.
## Support Hours
- Email support: 24/7
- Phone support: Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm EST
- Enterprise customers receive 24/7 phone support
## Common Questions
Q: Can I try CloudSync before buying?
A: Yes, we offer a 14-day free trial with full access to Business plan features.
Q: How do I cancel my subscription?
A: You can cancel anytime from your account settings under Billing > Manage Subscription.
Use state instructions for specific steps​
State instructions belong in the Dialogue Builder. Add knowledge here when it only applies in a specific conversation phase, such as billing support, appointment scheduling, technical troubleshooting, or account verification.
This keeps the rest of the conversation focused. A detailed billing policy, for example, can live in the Billing Support state without affecting how the agent handles sales or general support questions.
You are helping the customer with billing questions.
## Refund Policy
- Full refund within 30 days of purchase, no questions asked
- After 30 days: prorated refund based on remaining subscription period
- Refunds are processed within 5-7 business days
Use actions for live data​
Actions let the agent retrieve data from your systems during the conversation. Use them when the answer depends on the customer, changes often, or needs to come from an external system in real time.
For example, an agent can call an action to look up an order status, check account balance, fetch appointment availability, or confirm current pricing. This avoids copying fast-changing data into static knowledge and lets the agent retrieve only what it needs.
See Actions for details on configuring API integrations.
Next steps​
- Test your agent in the Playground to check whether it uses knowledge correctly
- Build dialogue flows for conversation-specific instructions
- Set up actions for dynamic data retrieval