What must be ready
A useful answer depends on three things: the source contains the information, processing has completed, and the knowledge base is assigned to the assistant. Creating a knowledge base without completing those steps does not make its content available to every assistant. The chat retrieval path searches completed sources linked to the selected assistant. Voice uses its knowledge tool and assistant context to search the linked knowledge bases. The tool call and the final answer are separate steps, so test the actual customer channel.Retrieval is selective
The assistant receives relevant passages rather than the entire document collection. Large, contradictory, or poorly structured sources can make the wrong passage more likely to be selected. Keep each source focused, label dates and business locations clearly, and remove outdated policies. A source that contains an answer may still need clearer wording or better organization. Compare the processed source with the original and test realistic variations of the question.Choose knowledge or a tool
Use a custom endpoint when your application needs a separately managed data source or specialized lookup. Configure its authentication, inputs, errors, and response format through a custom tool.
Verify a retrieval change
Ask a question that requires the revised source, confirm the answer against it, and test an out-of-scope question. Repeat after replacing or removing conflicting material. Do not rely on an earlier conversation’s answer as evidence that new source processing has finished. Follow Add and test business knowledge for setup.Retrieval controls and test scope
The standard source and assistant settings do not expose chunk-size, similarity-threshold, embedding-model, or result-count tuning. Knowledge Lab uses its own retrieval request; it is not a control for changing production retrieval settings. Avoid treating one Lab answer as proof that every assigned base is covered on the live channel.
For flow-backed assistants, test the flow’s actual knowledge/tool step separately. A flow node’s prompt mentioning a knowledge base does not itself configure a retrieval action.