Best practices for creating AI-ready knowledge

For Atom to deliver precise answers, your knowledge must be structured so it's clear, self-contained, and easy to interpret. This improves accuracy, reduces routine requests, boosts productivity, and frees service teams for higher-value work.

This guide explains how Atom processes your content, how to organise and format it so Atom can find what's relevant, understand the context, and compile complete responses, and how to keep it accurate and useful over time.

How Atom processes content

When an employee asks Atom a question, it searches across all your connected knowledge to find the most relevant excerpts — not entire articles. It then compiles these excerpts into a single, clear answer and, when relevant, includes related forms or catalog items so employees can act immediately.

This means every section of content should be self-contained and unambiguous. If an excerpt is vague or incomplete, it can introduce noise in the final answer.

Authoring high-quality knowledge

You need to structure and format your information so Atom can interpret information accurately and deliver answers that are complete, precise, and easy for employees to act on — whether that content lives in documents, web pages, or other connected sources.

Write complete answers

Each piece of content should contain all essential details so it's accurate on its own. While Atom can follow links, relying on them too much can fragment answers.

❌ Don't	✅ Do

Use clear headings to define context

Headings give Atom context for what follows. Every paragraph is tied to its last heading, which sets its topic boundary. Use H1 for article titles, H2 for main sections, and H3 for subsections or variations.

❌ Don't	✅ Do

Format for clarity

Consistent formatting improves readability for Atom and employees:

• Numbered lists for sequential steps.
• Bulleted lists for unordered items or options.
• Tables for constants or quick-reference data.
• Bold formatting for labels, key actions, or important terms.
• Keep paragraphs short and focused.
• Place notes/warnings immediately BEFORE or AFTER the step they apply to.
• Avoid unnecessary styling or inconsistent formats.

Be specific about the scope and differences

Make the content scope clear upfront — be specific about who the content applies to — so Atom filters correctly and employees don't get irrelevant steps.

When instructions differ by role, department, location, or platform, split them into clearly labelled subsections.

❌ Don't	✅ Do

Support images and videos with text

Atom can read images but not watch videos. Include a caption or a step-by-step narrative of your videos so answers can be used directly.

• For image captions: Be clear and descriptive, explaining exactly what's shown and why it's relevant.
• For videos: Write the complete steps or instructions in text, linking to the video optionally.

Choose the right format

The real impact of your knowledge depends on how it's presented. Some information works best as a full knowledge article, some as a short, single-truth Q&A, and others as a process or workflow.

• Best as a knowledge article: Step-by-step processes, company policies, troubleshooting guides, or rules that vary by role or location.
• Best as a Verified Answer: One-line facts like Wi-Fi passwords or payroll dates, emergency contacts, or URLs that never change.
• Best as a service catalog or workflow: Processes that involve multiple departments, requiring approvals, or complex project steps that change often.

Use Verified answers for critical information

Verified Answers are authoritative, definitive responses for high-importance information. They act as a single source of truth, eliminating misinterpretation and keeping responses consistent every time.

Write them in a clear question-and-answer format, with alternate phrasings employees might use.

Use verified answers for questions involving:

• Critical information like payroll dates or WiFi passwords
• Compliance information
• Emergency procedures
• FAQs with single answers

Keep information clear and consistent

Maintain a single source of truth for each topic and link to it instead of rewriting it elsewhere. Duplicates increase the risk of outdated or conflicting answers.

Avoid vague terms like "later this year" or "soon." Use exact dates, numbers, and names so answers remain accurate and timeless.

Make your content accessible

To make sure Atom can use your knowledge sources effectively, add them in accessible formats that aren't restricted.

All files must be under 100MB and in a supported format. Refer here for the complete list of supported file types. Larger files should be split into smaller documents for better processing.

For documents

• Ensure PDFs are not password-protected or access-controlled.
• Use a limited number of images per document, since too many can affect how the document is processed.
• Upload PDFs and DOCX files directly as documents instead of linking to them through URLs.

For URLs

• Use public links that don't redirect to a login or authentication page.
• Avoid pages with popups.
• Atom can read URLs with links nested up to three levels deep. For example, Atom can read a main benefits page, then follow a link to insurance, and then to contractor insurance.

Example for nested URLs

• ✅ https://company.com/benefits
• ✅ https://company.com/benefits/insurance
• ✅ https://company.com/benefits/insurance/contractors
• ❌ https://company.com/benefits/insurance/contractors/forms

Control access with permissions or segments

Define what Atom serves to different users by setting permissions in the original source or within Atomicwork.

1. Inherit permissions from connected apps: For sources like Google Drive or SharePoint, Atom uses the original document permissions.
2. Use segments in Atomicwork: For uploads, URLs, or sources without native permissions, you can set segments (e.g., All users, HR Department, Palo Alto office) to control visibility.

When using segments, individual file permissions always override parent folder permissions.

For example, if you have a folder called Network Policies in your IT workspace that is restricted to the IT Infra team, but one file inside that folder has its segment set to include IT Ops as well, that file will be available to both teams.

This ensures that access is precise and intentional — but it also means knowledge-level segment settings should be managed carefully to avoid oversharing.

Maintaining accuracy and relevance

Effective knowledge management is an iterative process. Your knowledge will deliver more value over time if you:

• Review and update content regularly
• Add Verified answers for recurring, high-priority questions
• Refine content structure based on your employee questions
• Expand coverage as new needs and patterns emerge

Regular maintenance keeps Atom accurate, trustworthy, and genuinely helpful. This means your employees and service teams spend less time searching for information and more time on meaningful work that drives your business forward.