Structuring knowledge for ai & humans

Structuring Knowledge for AI and Humans: Future-Proofing Your Salesforce Knowledge Base

In today’s service landscape, your knowledge base is more than a library — it’s a core system powering AI, search, and agent workflows.

With tools like Einstein Search, semantic search, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models, structuring your Salesforce Knowledge content is no longer optional. But while we optimize for AI, we must never forget the human reader.

This guide walks you through creating dual-purpose knowledge articles — designed for both AI retrieval and human comprehension.

Why Structure Matters for Both AI and Humans

Your knowledge base now serves:

Agents needing fast, scannable content inside Salesforce
Customers and partners navigating self-service portals
AI models parsing articles for context-aware answers

AI needs:

Clear chunking
Consistent metadata
Context separation

Humans need:

Skimmable layouts
Step-by-step clarity
Trust in the information

Best Practices for AI + Human-Friendly Knowledge Articles

1. Write Intent-Driven Titles

Example:
✅ Good: “API Requests Timeout When Uploading Large Data Batches”
❌ Bad: “Payload Error Issue”

2. Use Consistent Structure

Recommended format:

Problem / Symptoms
Environment / Scope
Cause (Optional)
Resolution / Fix
Workaround (Optional)
Related Articles
Validation Notes
Metadata Tags

3. Add Metadata for AI Context

Product tags
Audience signals
Difficulty level
Intent keywords

Example Salesforce Knowledge Article — AI and Human Optimized

Title: API Requests Timeout When Uploading Large Data Batches
Article ID: KB-2025-051 | Version: 1.2 | Last Updated: March 27, 2025
Product: Salesforce Customer Data Platform (CDP) API
Tags: API timeout, large data upload, batch ingestion

Problem / Symptoms:

Developers experience timeouts when uploading data batches larger than 10MB via the CDP API.

Environment / Scope:

API Version: v3.4 and v3.5
Synchronous POST requests
Production environments

Cause:

Large payloads trigger ingestion delays, exceeding timeout limits.

Resolution / Steps to Fix:

Split payloads into 5MB batches.
Use the bulk async API endpoint for larger uploads.
Implement retry logic based on API headers.
Review and adjust API limits if necessary.

Workaround:

For one-time uploads, use the CDP Admin CSV import tool.

[KB-2025-040]: Best Practices for API Batch Processing
[Developer Guide]: Handling API Timeouts

Validation Notes:

Tested with v3.5 API, validated up to 100MB datasets.

Benefits of This Structure:

Improves Einstein and AI retrieval accuracy
Faster agent scanning and resolution
Better customer self-service success rates
Reduces escalation and rework

Final Thoughts:

The future of knowledge management is hybrid — serving both AI agents and human users. By applying consistent structure, metadata, and clear writing, your Salesforce Knowledge base becomes a scalable, AI-ready asset — without sacrificing human usability.