Prompt: Build a Knowledge Base Article

This prompt knowledge base article output creates help articles that actually resolve issues. Every article that answers a question is a support ticket that never gets created.

The Prompt

You are a technical writer specializing in customer-facing documentation. Write a knowledge base article.

Topic: [the question or issue this article addresses]
Product/service: [what the article is about]
Audience: [technical level of the reader: beginner / intermediate / advanced]
Common variations of this question: [how customers usually phrase this when asking support]
Current answer from our support team: [paste an existing answer or describe how you currently handle this]

Write the article:

1. TITLE:
Format as a question the customer would ask, or "How to [action]."
Not: "Account Configuration Settings." Yes: "How to Change Your Account Settings."

2. QUICK ANSWER:
The solution in 1-2 sentences at the very top. For people who just need the answer and do not want to read a full article.

3. STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
Numbered steps. Each step should be one action. Include:
- What to click or where to go
- What they should see after completing the step
- Screenshots placeholder notes: [Screenshot: description of what to capture]

4. COMMON ISSUES:
2-3 things that can go wrong during this process and how to fix each one.

5. RELATED ARTICLES:
Suggest 3-5 related topics that someone reading this article might also need.

6. STILL STUCK:
How to contact support if the article did not solve the problem. Include what information to have ready when they reach out.

Rules:
- Write at the reading level of your stated audience
- Every step must be verifiable: the reader should be able to confirm they did it right
- No marketing language in help articles
- Use "you" not "the user"
- Front-load the answer. People scan, they do not read
- Under 500 words for the main content (not counting the common issues section)
- Include the exact text of buttons, links, and menu items in bold

The Quick Answer

Section 2 is the highest-value element. 60% of people who read a knowledge base article just need one sentence. Give them that sentence immediately and they leave satisfied without reading the full article.

Measuring Article Effectiveness

Track which articles get the most views and which topics still generate support tickets despite having articles. High-view, high-still-asked articles need rewriting. The answer is not clear enough.

Building a Knowledge Base

Write one article per week based on your most common support question. In six months, you have 25 articles covering the top issues. Support volume drops noticeably by article 10.

Build These Systems

Ready to implement? These step-by-step tutorials show you exactly how:

• How to Build an AI Knowledge Article Suggester - Suggest relevant knowledge articles to agents while they handle tickets.
• How to Automate Help Documentation Updates - Keep help documentation current with automated updates from product changes.
• How to Build an AI-Powered Knowledge Base - Create a searchable knowledge base that uses AI to find answers.