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What are knowledge bases?

Knowledge bases let you upload documents that your AI agent can reference during conversations. This is powered by RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). When a user asks a question, the agent searches your uploaded documents for relevant information and uses it to generate accurate answers.
Think of a knowledge base as giving your agent a reference library. Instead of making up answers, the agent can look up the right information from your documents.

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How it works

1

Create your agent

Set up an agent with a name, instructions, and any functions it needs.
2

Open agent details

In the Gainable interface, open the agent’s detail panel.
3

Click the folder icon

The folder icon opens the knowledge base manager for that agent.
4

Upload documents

Drag and drop or select files to upload. The agent can now reference them.

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What to upload

Playbooks & Guides

Sales playbooks, process guides, standard operating procedures

Product Documentation

Product catalogs, feature descriptions, specifications, pricing sheets

Policies & Compliance

Company policies, compliance documents, terms of service, HR guidelines

Training Materials

Onboarding docs, training manuals, FAQs, troubleshooting guides

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Use cases

Upload your product catalog and pricing sheet. The agent can answer questions like “What’s the price for the Enterprise plan?” or “Compare the Pro and Business tiers” using your product data.
Upload troubleshooting documentation and FAQs. The agent can walk users through solutions: “My printer won’t connect” triggers a lookup of your troubleshooting steps for printer connectivity.
Upload the employee handbook, PTO policies, and benefits guide. Employees can ask “How many vacation days do I get?” and get accurate answers from your policy documents.
Upload onboarding guides and training docs. New hires can ask “What’s the process for setting up my development environment?” and get step-by-step instructions from your materials.

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Managing knowledge bases

Knowledge bases are managed through the UI using the folder icon on the agent detail panel, not through chat prompts. You can add, remove, and replace documents at any time through this interface.
To update a knowledge base:
  1. Open the agent detail panel
  2. Click the folder icon
  3. Add new documents or remove existing ones
  4. Changes take effect immediately

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Combining knowledge with functions

Knowledge bases and functions work together to give your agent maximum capability:
SourceBest forExample
FunctionsLive app data that changes frequently”How many open deals do I have?”
KnowledgeStatic reference material and documentation”What’s our refund policy?”
BothQuestions that need data context + reference material”This customer wants a refund. What’s the policy and what’s their order history?”
Create a support agent that can:
- Look up customer orders (functions)
- Reference our return policy and FAQ (knowledge base)
- Search the web for product compatibility info (web search)

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Best practices

Upload specific, relevant documents rather than entire document libraries. A focused knowledge base produces more accurate answers.
Documents with headings, sections, and organized content work better for retrieval. Well-structured documents help the agent find the right information faster.
If your policies or product information changes, replace the old documents with updated versions. The agent always uses the latest uploaded content.
After uploading documents, ask the agent questions your users would ask. Verify that it finds and uses the right information from your documents.

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Learn more

Creating agents

Set up your agent’s configuration

Agent functions

Connect to live app data

Copilot

Embed the agent in your app

Overview

Back to AI Agents & Copilot overview