How to use the Customer Agent to find and fill knowledge base gaps

Is your Customer Agent handing off the same questions week after week? Do you know which of your knowledge base articles it actually relies on, and which ones it ignores?

The HubSpot Customer Agent is an AI agent that answers customer questions using your knowledge base, website and other content. It also logs every question it couldn't answer well as a coaching opportunity. If you review those opportunities every week and turn each one into a short answer or a knowledge base article, the agent resolves more on its own and your knowledge base improves based on real customer questions. Here's how to set up that loop and keep it running.

Top tip: clear conflicts before you write anything new. If an opportunity is marked as a knowledge conflict, the agent already has two sources that disagree, so fix or retire one of them first. Adding a new article on top of the conflict just gives the agent a third answer to choose from.

• Go to More > Service > Customer Agent. If you haven't set the agent up yet, follow our How to Set Up Your AI Customer Agent hack first.
• Make sure your knowledge base articles are synced as a content source, alongside any website pages or public URLs the agent should use.
• Choose a personality (Friendly, Professional, Casual, Empathetic or Witty), or select Use my brand voice if you've set one up.
• Bear in mind that once a customer agent is created, it can't be deleted. You can pause or edit it at any time, but don't create test agents you'll want to clear away later.

• Click Test [agent name] in the top right and ask it the questions your service team hears most.
• Use Test as CRM contact or Test as a segment to see how answers change for different customers.
• Review the Testing Insights panel to see which sources the agent cited and why it responded the way it did.
• Testing doesn't use HubSpot Credits, so test generously.
  
  

• Go to Train > Human handoff.
• Write guidelines for the topics a human should always handle, such as refunds, cancellations or login problems. You can start from one of the prebuilt templates.
• Choose live handoff, async handoff or no handoff, then pick the inbox, help desk or workflow that receives the conversation.

• Go to Analyse > Coaching opportunities.
• Sort the table by number of conversations, so you deal with the gaps that affect the most customers first.
• Click an opportunity's name to read the conversation. The message the agent couldn't answer is highlighted in red.
• Check the type. A knowledge gap means the information is missing. A knowledge conflict means two sources disagree. An action gap means the customer asked the agent to do something it isn't set up to do.
  
  

• Click All coaching actions, then use the Knowledge tab to fix the gap.
• Create a short answer when the fix is a single fact, such as an opening time, a price band or a yes/no policy.
• Write or update a knowledge base article when the answer needs steps, or when your human reps would benefit from it too.
• Mark the opportunity as resolved once the content is live, so next week's list only shows what's still open.

• To generate knowledge in bulk, go to Train > Knowledge > Add content > Generate knowledge. Choose Tickets, Inbox or File upload as the source. HubSpot analyses the last 90 days and suggests question-and-answer pairs for you to review. A Super Admin may need to opt in to the beta first.
• Accepted pairs go live in the agent immediately, so read each one before you accept it.
• For full articles, use the knowledge base agent (beta) to draft articles from support tickets. Treat its output as a first draft for a subject matter expert to check.

• Go to Analyse > Reports, then open the Source Usage tab.
• Rewrite underperformers. These are sources the agent uses often, but which rarely resolve the query.
• Promote underutilised sources that resolve well when they're used. They're often buried or badly titled.
• Retire low-impact sources that are rarely used and rarely help.

• In Analyse > Reports, track resolution rate alongside deflection rate.
• A deflection only means no human got involved. The customer may simply have given up. Resolution rate tells you whether the agent actually answered the question.

The Customer Agent gets better in direct proportion to the content behind it, and coaching opportunities tell you exactly what that content is missing. Set aside 30 minutes a week, give one person ownership of the review, and you'll see fewer handoffs on the topics you've fixed. Resist the urge to rewrite your whole knowledge base in one go. Fix the gaps customers are hitting today, and let next week's list show you what to tackle next.

FAQs

Does testing the HubSpot Customer Agent use HubSpot Credits?
No. Previewing and testing the Customer Agent doesn't use HubSpot Credits. Credits are only consumed once the agent is deployed to live channels, and only when it delivers a resolution. First-time users can also opt in to 14 days of free access.

Which HubSpot plans include the Customer Agent?
The Customer Agent is available on Professional and Enterprise editions of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, Content Hub, Data Hub, Smart CRM and Revenue Hub. You also need HubSpot Credits to deploy it to live channels, plus Customer agent editor permissions and an assigned seat to set it up.

What's the difference between deflection rate and resolution rate for the Customer Agent?
Deflection rate counts conversations the agent handled without any human involvement, including conversations where the customer gave up. Resolution rate only counts conversations where the agent shared a source or completed an action, and the customer didn't ask for a human within 72 hours. Resolution rate is the better measure of whether the agent is actually helping.

Should I create a short answer or a knowledge base article to fix a Customer Agent knowledge gap?
Use a short answer when the fix is a single fact, such as an opening time or a yes/no policy. Write or update a full knowledge base article when the answer needs steps or context, or when your human service team would benefit from it as well.

Can I delete a HubSpot Customer Agent?
No. Once a customer agent is created, it can't be deleted, although you can edit or pause it at any time. Avoid creating throwaway test agents. Use the built-in test panel instead.