Context & Agents · Knowledge Bases
Knowledge Bases
See the document collections your agents can read, and create, group or delete them.
A knowledge base is a collection of documents that AI agents can read, such as a compliance manual, product policies or research notes. When you add a document, Next pulls out its text and prepares it so agents can search it and quote the passages they need.
Knowledge bases are how agents learn about your organisation. An agent pack that has been given a knowledge base can draw on it when drafting, so its output reflects your own material rather than general knowledge.
Before you start
- Open Context & Agents → Knowledge Bases from the sidebar.
- You need permission to change knowledge bases to see New knowledge base, New group, and the move and delete controls. Without it, you can still browse and open knowledge bases.
- Knowledge bases are named and described in Governance → Knowledge Bases → Catalogue. See Governance: Knowledge base catalogue.
Understanding the list
Each row is one knowledge base.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The knowledge base’s name. Select it to open it and manage its documents. |
| Description | A short description of what it holds. A dash (—) means it has none. |
| Workspace | The workspace that owns a knowledge base shared with you. A dash means it is your own. |
Where a knowledge base comes from
Knowledge bases can be your own, or shared with you by another workspace.
| Source | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ours | Created in this workspace. You can open, change and delete it, if your role allows. |
| Shared with us | Another workspace sent you a copy. You can open and read it, but it is read-only. |
| Shared without copying | Another workspace answers your agents’ questions from its own copy. Nothing is stored here, so you cannot open it from this list. These sit under their own heading. |
Groups
If your workspace uses groups, knowledge bases are listed under headings, with a count beside each. Select the arrow beside a heading to open or close it.
A group is only a heading for tidiness. It does not change which knowledge bases any agent can read: agents are always given individual knowledge bases.
Create a knowledge base
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Select New knowledge base in the top-right corner.
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Enter a Name, such as Compliance manual.
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Enter a Description of what is in it and when to reach for it. Agents read this when deciding whether to use the knowledge base, so be specific.
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Select Create.
The knowledge base starts empty.
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Open it and upload documents. See Knowledge base detail.
Organise knowledge bases into groups
To create a group:
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Select New group.
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Enter a Name, such as the name of a team or system, and select Create.
Headings appear on the list once the first group exists.
To move a knowledge base into a group:
- Select the folder icon at the end of its row.
- Choose a group from Move to group, or Ungrouped to take it out of its group.
You can only move knowledge bases that belong to your workspace.
To rename or delete a group, use the icons beside the group’s heading. Deleting a group removes the heading only. The knowledge bases in it are kept and move to Ungrouped.
Delete a knowledge base
Deleting a knowledge base removes it, every document in it, and everything built from those documents for searching. It cannot be undone.
- Select the bin icon at the end of the row.
- Decide whether to tick Also delete the files this knowledge base owns.
- Ticked: the uploaded files are deleted too, but only files this knowledge base owns. A file that was uploaded elsewhere and also added here is kept.
- Not ticked: the uploaded files are kept and can be added to a knowledge base again later.
- Select Delete to confirm.
If the delete is blocked
If any agent is still allowed to read the knowledge base, nothing is deleted. The dialog says Nothing was deleted and lists the agents that still use it. This protects those agents from failing the next time they run. The agent’s access must be removed first.
Find a knowledge base
- Enter part of a name in the search box.
- Choose a Source filter: Ours, Shared with us or Shared without copying.
- Sort by Name or Workspace.
- Select Clear to remove your filters.
What to expect
- If your workspace has no knowledge bases yet, the list says No knowledge bases yet. Create one, then upload the documents the agents should read.
- After you create a knowledge base, it opens straight away so you can add documents.
Good to know
- Knowledge bases that belong to an application are not listed here. Find them on that application’s page. See Application detail.
- Agents read the text, not the file. A knowledge base stores the text pulled out of each document. Images, charts and page layout are not part of what agents read.
- Take the tour. The first time you open this page, it offers a short guided tour. You can replay it from the help (?) menu in the top bar.