A contact center knowledge base is a searchable and editable repository of service-related information. This type of software enables customer service agents to access clear and accurate answers to frequently asked questions regarding a company’s products. Businesses use contact center knowledge bases to increase agent productivity and improve the quality of customer service interactions. By establishing and maintaining a database of proven solutions, contact center knowledge bases ensure that every customer service agent is able to respond to customer issues quickly and confidently. In addition, contact center knowledge bases improve the onboarding process for new agents and ensure that all service knowledge is transferable, so expertise does not leave the business when an employee does.
Contact center knowledge bases are deployed within a contact center’s workflow and may integrate with live chat software or help desk software, allowing agents to find, view, and share knowledge articles on demand and in real time during interactions with customers. These products also offer features such as intelligent search, article suggestions, and decision trees, which may help agents quickly identify solutions or guide agents step by step through common inquiries.
Some contact center knowledge base products can be deployed as enterprise wiki software and/or customer self-service software. However, enterprise wikis provide businesses with an internal knowledge management system, which can be implemented broadly across an organization. Customer self-service portals serve as an external knowledge base, allowing customers to access information without the aid of a customer support agent. Unlike these solutions, contact center knowledge bases are internal solutions specifically intended for use by customer service representatives within a contact center environment.
To qualify for inclusion in the Contact Center Knowledge Base category, a product must:
Be intended for use in a help desk or customer service environment
Include a searchable database of product information, troubleshooting techniques, and solutions to known issues
Be accessible by service representatives to assist them with calls or chats in real time
Provide features for intelligently guiding agents through customer inquiries and/or suggesting relevant knowledge articles
Allow edits, updates, and other changes by authorized users to improve the quality of service information
