BoldDesk’s AI Search feature allows users to ask questions in natural language and receive AI-generated answers based on relevant knowledge base articles.

BoldDesk leverages artificial intelligence technologies—such as machine learning and semantic search—to enhance how users discover information within the Knowledge Base (KB).

Key Capabilities:

• Understands natural language queries
• Improves search accuracy and relevance
• Delivers AI-generated answers instantly

You can only use this feature on the Knowledge Base home page in the customer portal. Type your question in the search bar, and the first response on the search results page will be AI-generated.

• You can also find AI answers directly from the search dropdown on the home page by clicking the AI option.

  

To enable this feature:

1. Go to Admin > Customer Portal > Knowledge Base.

2. Turn on the ‘Enable AI assistance in KB search’ option.

   

Troubleshoot Missing AI Answers in Knowledge Base Search (AI Assistance)

If the Knowledge Base search results show a relevant article, but the AI answer panel doesn’t appear—or the AI answer doesn’t recommend that article—use the checklist below to identify the cause and fix it.

What this usually means

AI-generated answers in Knowledge Base search appear only when:

• AI Assistance in KB Search is enabled.
• AI Copilot is active.
• The AI can use the article (public visibility + usable content in the body).

If any of these conditions are not met, customers may still see standard search results, but the AI answer may be missing or may ignore the article.

Checklist: Fix missing AI answers in KB search

1) Confirm AI Assistance in KB Search is enabled

AI answers appear only when Enable AI assistance in KB search is turned on in the customer portal → Knowledge Base settings.

What to do

• Open the customer portal Knowledge Base settings.
• Turn on Enable AI assistance in KB search.
• Save changes and re-test the same customer query.

2) Confirm the AI Copilot subscription is active

AI-generated answers in Knowledge Base search require AI Copilot to be activated and subscribed.

What to do

• Verify your BoldDesk account has AI Copilot enabled and an active subscription.
• If AI Copilot is not active, activate/subscribe and then re-test KB search.

3) Confirm the article is eligible for AI search (Public visibility)

AI Assistance in KB search uses only public articles—articles with visibility set to “any users”.
Private/internal articles are excluded, even if they appear in search results for agents or internal users.

What to do

• Open the article that should be recommended.
• Set article visibility to Any users (public).
• Republish the article (if required), then re-test the same query.

4) Ensure the article body contains what customers search for

AI answers are generated from content the AI can retrieve and interpret. If the key term appears only in the title and is not explained in the article body, the AI may not have enough context to reliably select and use that article.

Recommended action (best practice for AI retrieval)

Update the article content so the AI has clear, searchable context:

• Include the key term(s) in the opening paragraph and in relevant headings.
• Define the term briefly in the article body.
• Use clear headings, short focused paragraphs, and structured lists to improve AI parsing and retrieval.

For detailed guidance on improving AI answer quality and article structure, learn more on Best Practices for Ensuring Accurate AI Responses in BoldDesk.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What settings must be enabled to use AI Search in the KB section within the Customer Portal?
The Knowledge Base must be enabled in the customer portal.
You can enable it here:
Admin → Customer Portal → Knowledge Base → Enable AI assistance in KB search

2. Who can use the AI Search feature to search for articles in the Customer Portal?
Any customer portal user can use it, as long as the KB and AI assistance are enabled and the relevant articles are set to public visibility.

3. Why doesn’t AI Assistance in Knowledge Base Search show an AI answer even when a relevant article exists?
If Knowledge Base search results display a relevant article but the AI answer does not appear (or does not recommend that article), check the following:

1. AI Assistance in KB Search is enabled
   AI answers appear only when Enable AI assistance in KB search is turned on in the customer portal Knowledge Base settings.

2. AI Copilot subscription is active
   AI-generated answers in KB search require AI Copilot to be activated and subscribed.

3. The article is eligible for AI search (Public visibility)
   AI KB search uses only public articles (visibility set to “any users”). Private/internal articles are excluded from AI-generated answers.

4. The article body contains the terms customers search for
   AI answers are generated from the content that the AI can retrieve and interpret. If key terms appear only in the title and are not explained in the article body, the AI may not have enough context to select and use that article reliably.
   Recommended action:

   • Include the key term(s) in the opening paragraph and relevant headings.
   • Define the term briefly in the article body (example: “OCR process means …”).
   • Use clear headings, short focused paragraphs, and structured lists to improve AI parsing and retrieval.

5. Learn more on Best Practices for Ensuring Accurate AI Responses in BoldDesk.

Related Articles

• Get Started With Knowledge Base
• How to Configure the Knowledge Base Self-Service Portal
• How to Enable or Disable Knowledge Base in Self-Service Portal?