workflow · how to

Knowledge Base

Follow the knowledge base workflow in Slack.

Goal

Maintain brand and organization knowledge entries that power AI tone, saved replies, and generation context. The Knowledge Base hub in Settings is where you create, edit, archive, and link entries, including optional Slack Canvas sources.

When to use this

Use this workflow when you add brand voice guidelines, product facts, reply templates, or reference material that AI generation and reply flows should respect. Update entries when positioning changes, when you want to exclude stale content from AI without deleting it, or when a linked Slack Canvas document changes upstream.

Before you begin

You need access to the Settings work center and brand or organization scope for the entry you edit. Confirm you are working in the correct scope before creating or editing; organization entries apply broadly, while brand entries apply to one brand.

Canvas link and sync actions require Slack Canvas permissions in the workspace. Without Canvas access, you can still create and edit text entries directly in the Knowledge Base.

Steps

Open the knowledge hub

  1. Type /social and choose Settings.
  2. Under Content, open Knowledge Base.
  3. Use Scope and Type filters in the hub to narrow the list to the entries you need.
  4. Choose Add to Knowledge Base for a new entry, or use row actions on an existing entry to edit, archive, or toggle AI usage.

If you do not have permission for an action, Slack stops the change before anything is saved. No partial writes occur when access is denied.

Create or edit an entry

  1. In the create or edit modal, fill Title, Type, and body fields.
  2. Submit to save.
  3. Use Toggle AI on an existing row when an entry should stay in the knowledge base but be excluded from generation context. This is useful for archived positioning or seasonal copy you do not want cited.

If the entry changed underneath you or is missing, Slack shows a recoverable error instead of failing silently. Reopen the hub, refresh the list, and try the edit again.

Choose the entry type that matches how the content will be used. Type affects how entries appear in filters and how downstream flows reference them.

For Canvas-backed sources:

  1. Choose Link Canvas on a row or from the hub actions. Submit the Canvas URL when prompted.
  2. Use Sync Canvas or Update from source to refresh content when the upstream Canvas changed.
  3. If you see another Canvas action label on a row, Link Canvas opens the same setup flow.

Incompatible source types are blocked with a clear message in the modal. Use a supported Canvas URL and confirm you have permission to read that Canvas in Slack.

Filter and review the list

Use Scope and Type filters to narrow a long list before editing. Open a row with View/Edit to change title, type, or body. For Canvas-backed rows, confirm the link status and last sync time before running generation that should cite the entry.

Archiving removes an entry from active use without deleting history. Toggle AI off when you want the entry visible to admins but excluded from AI context.

Confirm it worked

Reopen the Knowledge Base hub and confirm the entry appears with the correct scope, type, and status. Filters you applied should still narrow to the entry you saved.

Run a generation or reply flow that should cite the entry, or inspect the output for tone and facts that match what you saved. For Canvas-linked entries, run Sync Canvas after an upstream edit and confirm the body reflects the latest Canvas content.

Troubleshooting

An action is missing or blocked. You may lack scope access for that brand or organization. Switch to the correct brand in App Home and reopen Settings. Canvas actions require Canvas permissions in the workspace.

Submit shows a recoverable error. Another teammate may have edited or archived the entry. Reopen the hub, find the current row, and edit from there.

Link Canvas fails. Confirm the URL points to a Canvas in the same workspace, that you can open it in Slack, and that the source type is supported. Incompatible types show a clear rejection message.

AI still cites excluded content. Confirm Toggle AI is off for that row. Generation context updates on the next run; retry generation after toggling.

Synced content looks stale. Run Sync Canvas or Update from source again. Large Canvas documents may take a moment to process before the body updates in the hub.