Sort documents into categories

Summary

You sort your knowledge documents into categories in the KonversAI console. The screen carries the heading Categories and the line Organize your knowledge base documents. A category is a folder for the people who manage the knowledge base. Each category has a Name, an optional Parent Category and an optional Description. You then choose the category in the Category field of a document. A category is not a topic. A topic is the label KonversAI uses to measure knowledge gaps.

Who can do this

A tenant administrator, or any team member whose role has the View knowledge base and Modify knowledge base permissions. An administrator sets these on Settings > Users & permissions in the KonversAI console. Without Modify knowledge base you can read a category, but you cannot make, change or delete one.

Before you start

The Categories screen has no item in the left sidebar of the KonversAI console. Open the screen with its address. Replace your-tenant with your own tenant name:

/t/your-tenant/knowledge/categories

You reach the same address from Knowledge > Documents. Add /categories to the end of the address in your browser. The Categories screen has a Back to Documents button that takes you back.

Plan the names before you start. Use a small number of broad categories, and give each one a name your colleagues recognise. A category holds documents, and a category can hold other categories through the Parent Category field.

A category does not change what the assistant answers. Read the FAQ question “What is the difference between a category and a topic?” on this page before you build a large tree.

Steps

Make a category

1. Open the Categories screen in the KonversAI console at /t/your-tenant/knowledge/categories. The heading is Categories and the line under it is Organize your knowledge base documents.
2. Select + New Category. The New Category screen opens.
3. Type the category name in Name. This field is mandatory. The name holds a maximum of 255 characters.
4. Choose a parent in Parent Category. The default is None (Top Level). Choose an existing category to make a sub-category.
5. Type an explanation in Description. This field is optional. KonversAI reads the description when it picks a category for an imported document, so write a clear sentence.
6. Select Save Category. KonversAI returns to the Categories screen. To leave the screen and save nothing, select Cancel.

The Categories screen lists every category in a table with the columns Name, Parent, Description and Actions.

Put a document into a category

1. Select Knowledge in the left sidebar of the KonversAI console, then select Documents. The screen heading is Knowledge Base.
2. Select the title of the document. The Edit Document screen opens.
3. Choose the category in Category. The default value is No Category.
4. Select Save Changes.

One document belongs to one category. To take a document out of a category, choose No Category and select Save Changes.

Change or delete a category

1. Open the Categories screen in the KonversAI console at /t/your-tenant/knowledge/categories.
2. Find the row in the table and select Edit. The Edit Category screen opens with Name, Parent Category and Description.
3. Change the fields, then select Save Category.
4. To remove a category, select Delete in the same row.
5. Your browser asks Are you sure? This will uncategorize related documents.. Confirm the question.

KonversAI deletes the category and keeps every document. Each document that used that category moves to No Category. No document text is lost.

FAQ

What is the difference between a category and a topic?

A category and a topic are two different things in the KonversAI console. Both group documents, but they serve different jobs, and one document can have both.

A category is for people. You make a category yourself on the Categories screen, with the line Organize your knowledge base documents. You then pick it by hand in the Category field of a document. A category records how you organise a large knowledge base for your colleagues. The Knowledge Base screen has no category filter today. A category does not decide what the assistant answers.

A topic is for measurement. You make a topic under Knowledge > Topics in the left sidebar, on a screen with the line Manage supervised topic labels used to classify your knowledge documents. KonversAI then reads each document and classifies it into exactly one topic for you. KonversAI compares customer questions against those topics, and reports where your knowledge is weak.

So: you assign a category, and KonversAI assigns a topic. Use categories to organise. Use topics to measure. Read Organize your knowledge with topics.

Where do I find the Categories screen?

The KonversAI console has no Categories item in the left sidebar. Open the screen with its address: /t/your-tenant/knowledge/categories. Replace your-tenant with your own tenant name.

The screen heading is Categories, and the line under it is Organize your knowledge base documents. The screen has a Back to Documents button that takes you to the Knowledge Base screen under Knowledge > Documents.

You also see your categories without this screen. Open any document under Knowledge > Documents in the console. The Category field lists every category your tenant has.

Does a category change what the assistant answers?

No. The assistant searches every published knowledge document in your tenant, whatever category the document has. A document with No Category reaches customers exactly like a document inside a category.

A category organises documents for the people who manage the knowledge base in the KonversAI console. It records which documents belong together. The Knowledge Base screen under Knowledge > Documents has no category filter today, so the category is a label you read on each document.

To change what the assistant answers, change the document itself under Knowledge > Documents, or set its Status to Draft so the assistant stops using it.

What happens to my documents when I delete a category?

Nothing is lost. On the Categories screen in the KonversAI console, select Delete in the row of the category. Your browser asks Are you sure? This will uncategorize related documents..

When you confirm, KonversAI deletes the category and keeps every document. Each document that used that category moves to No Category. The title, the content and the status of each document stay the same, and the assistant keeps answering from them.

To put those documents into another category, open each one under Knowledge > Documents, choose the new value in Category, and select Save Changes.

Can a category sit inside another category?

Yes. Each category has a Parent Category field on the New Category and Edit Category screens in the KonversAI console. The default is None (Top Level). Choose an existing category to make the new one a sub-category.

The Categories screen shows the parent of each category in the Parent column of the table. A row with a dash has no parent.

Keep the tree shallow. Two levels are enough for most tenants. The Knowledge Base screen under Knowledge > Documents has no category filter today, so a deep tree gives you no extra help in the console.

Can one document be in two categories?

No. A knowledge document in the KonversAI console has one Category field, and that field holds one value. Open the document under Knowledge > Documents and choose one category, or choose No Category.

When a document fits two categories, that is usually a sign the document covers two subjects. Split it into two documents, each with one subject and one category. Short single-subject documents also give the assistant better answers.

Does KonversAI choose a category for me?

Only for a text import. When you paste text under Knowledge > Import > + Import > the Text card in the console, KonversAI writes draft documents from your text. KonversAI then reads your existing categories and picks the best match for each draft, or leaves the draft with no category.

KonversAI reads the Name and the Description of each category to make that choice. A clear Description gives a better match. That is the reason to fill the field.

A document you write by hand gets no automatic category. Choose the value in the Category field yourself and select Save Changes.

I made a category but no document uses it. What now?

An empty category is normal after you make it. A category never collects documents on its own. In the KonversAI console, select Knowledge in the left sidebar, then select Documents. Open each document, choose the category in the Category field, and select Save Changes.

Do this for each document that belongs in the category. There is no bulk action for this today.

If you no longer want the category, open the Categories screen at /t/your-tenant/knowledge/categories and select Delete in its row.