Help center Knowledge base and KCS Find and use the right knowledge article Updated Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · A useful knowledge search should lead to an answer that fits the customer’s actual problem. The Knowledge Base workspace lets you search, browse topics, and narrow the article list. Check the article’s scope and audience before relying on it or sharing a link.At a glanceFor: agents, specialists, and knowledge contributors. Applies to: Supportbench Core.Start here: Knowledge base in the agent navigationSearch and narrow the list · Check that the answer fits · Verify a customer can use the article · When knowledge is missing or unclear · Build a useful search habit · Work a search from the customer’s words to a usable answer · Share instructions the customer can actually followSearch and narrow the listOpen Knowledge base and check the Division selector. Your access and selected scope affect the available articles.Enter a title, product name, phrase, or the customer’s error wording in Search the knowledge base. If needed, try the customer’s wording and the product’s formal term separately.Browse Topics when the category is clearer than the title. Use Filters and inspect the active filters before concluding that an article is missing.Use a saved view for a repeatable working list. Choose useful metadata with Columns, and use Export when an authorized offline list is needed.Open a candidate article and read the applicable version, prerequisites, steps, and expected result. Confirm the article’s publication state and audience.Check that the answer fitsCheckWhy it mattersProduct and versionSimilar symptoms can have different procedures in different releases or environments.Customer relationship and assetThe organization may use a different supported item or configuration from the example.Prerequisites and permissionsA customer cannot follow a step that requires an agent or administrator capability they do not have.Expected resultA documented verification step helps distinguish a successful resolution from a temporary symptom change.Audience and publicationAn internal or restricted article should not be copied into a public reply merely because the agent can open it.Example: recurring equipment faultSearch the symptom and equipment family, then compare the article’s prerequisites with the affected asset. If the article applies, use its verification step to confirm the result. If the customer’s situation exposes a missing exception, flag that specific gap rather than creating a near-duplicate article.Verify a customer can use the articleExternal means portal-eligible; it does not alone prove public access. Workflow publication, portal and topic rules, customer roles, and article restrictions must also permit the intended reader. Topic placement and search visibility do not override those controls.Use the current canonical article link when sharing approved customer guidance.Check the intended customer context when an article is restricted by role, asset, or other configured scope.Keep internal diagnostics in the internal case workflow; share the customer-safe procedure instead.If access fails, ask the article owner or administrator to review its publication and audience rather than copying restricted material into an unrestricted location.When knowledge is missing or unclearClear unintended filters and confirm the division. Try another useful phrase, then browse the relevant topic.Check whether the answer exists under a different product term or title.Use Flag for update when available to identify a wrong step, missing scenario, or unclear outcome. Include the exact issue and safe supporting evidence.For a genuinely new, verified resolution, follow the case-to-article and authoring workflow. Search before creating another article.Build a useful search habitSearch early in the investigation, then search again when the cause is clearer. Reusing verified knowledge gives the next agent a common starting point. Report recurring search terms to the article owner so titles, summaries, and Search keywords reflect how customers actually describe the problem.Work a search from the customer’s words to a usable answerSuppose the customer says “the nightly order export stopped.” You do not yet know whether the cause is a connection, permissions or the export settings. Search early for guidance, then refine as evidence develops. The examples below are suggested search phrases, not guaranteed exact-match operators.What you knowTry this phraseWhat to do with the resultOnly the customer symptomnightly order export stoppedLook for the relevant feature and identify the prerequisites it asks you to check.The product operationorder export connection failureCompare the product/environment with the case; discard procedures for a different connection type.A verified errorThe exact error text plus the product nameCheck whether the article covers that error and the customer’s version, rather than a superficially similar symptom.Open Knowledge base, confirm Division, and enter the first useful phrase. Inspect active Filters if the result is empty or surprisingly narrow.Open a promising article. Read its purpose, applicability, access requirements and expected result before trying a change. A matching title is a candidate, not a diagnosis.If it does not fit, return to the result list and adjust one part of the search. Try the formal feature name, the customer’s wording, or a shorter distinctive error. Browse Topics when you know the feature family.After the cause is clearer, search again. The correct solution may use a different term from the original symptom.If the article resolves the issue, record the customer-specific test and result on the case. If a step is missing, flag the precise gap so the next reader does not need to rediscover it.Share instructions the customer can actually followBefore sending an article about portal access, check whether the steps are meant for a customer, an agent or an administrator. A technically correct administrator procedure is not a useful self-service answer for a contact who cannot open Settings. Explain the customer’s next action and link the appropriate guide; keep the administrative dependency with its owner.Use the canonical link and confirm intended access. If you can open the article but the customer cannot, check its publication, portal/topic rules and restrictions rather than assuming the URL is broken. Do not copy internal diagnostics into the customer reply to bypass the restriction. When the article is too technical, ask for a companion customer procedure instead of repeatedly writing private, unmaintained versions in email.Continue learningCreate, review, and publish an articleFlag an article for updatePractice KCSConfigure knowledge-base topics Was this article helpful? Yes No Thank you for your feedback.