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[This article is prerelease documentation and is subject to change.]
Agents powered by the Customer Conversation harness support several types of knowledge sources. Each type connects your agent to different kinds of content and data.
Note
A knowledge source is content the maker makes available to the agent at design time, so every user gets the same grounding. If instead you want an end user to bring their own file into a single conversation - for example, a PDF to summarize - that's an attachment, not a knowledge source. See Attach files to a conversation.
Knowledge source types
When you select Add knowledge on the Build tab, the Add knowledge dialog opens to a Featured tab (with an Advanced tab for more source types), and splits sources into two groups: sources you can add directly, and sources that require you to configure authentication first.
Knowledge sources that use the end user's credentials work only in chat conversations, because voice channels don't support end-user sign-in.
Public websites
- Add public website URLs. The agent can reference publicly accessible web content.
- No authentication required.
- Add a public website as a knowledge source
Files
- Drag and drop or upload documents directly to the agent.
- No authentication required.
- Upload files as a knowledge source
Dynamics 365
- Connect to Dynamics 365 to let the agent reference customer, case, and business data.
- No authentication required.
- Add knowledge to an agent (Customer Conversation)
SharePoint
- Connect to SharePoint sites, document libraries, and specific files. The agent can search and reference content stored in SharePoint.
- Requires authentication. Select Change authentication to configure it first.
- Add SharePoint as a knowledge source
Dataverse
- Connect to Dataverse tables to let the agent query structured business data.
- Requires authentication. Select Change authentication to configure it first.
- Add Dataverse as a knowledge source
Salesforce
- Connect to Salesforce to let the agent reference customer and case data.
- Requires authentication. Select Change authentication to configure it first.
- Search quality depends on Salesforce's own search capabilities.
- Add knowledge to an agent (Customer Conversation)
ServiceNow
- Connect to ServiceNow to let the agent reference service management content.
- Requires authentication. Select Change authentication to configure it first.
- Search quality depends on ServiceNow's own search capabilities.
- Add knowledge to an agent (Customer Conversation)
Configure authentication for a knowledge source
Sources that require authentication share a single Authentication mode setting, configured once for all agents in the orchestration:
- In the Add knowledge dialog, select Change authentication next to a source that requires it.
- This opens the Shared Settings panel's Security tab, where you set the Authentication mode for the orchestration.
- For voice channels, separately configure Voice authentication (caller verification using biometric authentication, authentication policies, and OTP challenge rules).
Learn more in Configure agent details and security (Customer Conversation).
Choose the right knowledge source
| Source type | Best for |
|---|---|
| Public websites | Product documentation, FAQs, public reference material |
| Files | Specific documents you want the agent to reference directly |
| Dynamics 365 | Customer, case, and business data |
| SharePoint | Internal documents, policies, and team content |
| Dataverse | Structured business data (records, tables) |
| Salesforce | Customer and case data |
| ServiceNow | Service management content and knowledge base articles |