What is the AI assistant
The AI assistant answers customer questions using your published knowledge base. Users ask questions in natural language and receive instant responses with citations to the source articles.
Where users find the AI assistant
The AI assistant is available in two places:
Help Center: Users click the Ask AI button in the header to open a side panel.
Help Widget: Users start AI assistance from the assistant composer on the widget home screen; submitting a question opens the chat view.
The AI assistant requires at least one published article to answer questions. Drafts, unpublished changes, and internal notes are not included.
What users can do
In either location, users can:
Ask questions in natural language
View responses with clickable citations to source articles
Provide thumbs up or thumbs down feedback
Start a new conversation
When a user gives negative feedback or the AI cannot find sufficient information, the assistant may offer a route to your support team. This depends on the AI escalation and handoff behavior configured for that channel.
Prerequisites
At least one article must be published in your knowledge base
An admin or editor must enable AI answers for each channel
Related articles
How to enable AI assistant answers — Turn on AI in your help center and widget
How AI answers work — Content scope, citations, and answer generation
AI escalation and handoff behavior — Configure when the assistant offers contact options
AI assistant troubleshooting — Fix common AI assistant issues
Configure widget settings — Customize widget branding, contact methods, and AI features
Self-Service widget overview — Understand how the widget integrates with your site