What does a help centre include?
Most help centres combine a search box, articles grouped into categories, getting-started guides, release notes or a link to a status page, and contact options such as a form, email or live chat. Some add a community forum where customers answer each other, or a portal where customers can follow their own support requests.
A typical visit looks like this: a customer who can’t connect an integration searches the help centre, opens the matching article and follows the steps. They use the contact form only if the article doesn’t solve the problem.
Accessibility guidance counts self-help pages like these as one kind of help. WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.6, Consistent Help, asks that help repeated across a set of pages, such as a link to a support page, contact details or a chatbot, appears in the same order relative to the other content on each page, so people can find it again.
Why does a help centre matter for a website voice agent?
A help centre and a voice agent answer the same questions in different ways. One lets people read, search and copy steps, and the other lets them ask aloud and follow up. The help centre’s articles are usually the best starting material for the agent, because they already hold your checked answers.
The two need to agree. When an article changes, the agent’s copy of that answer has to change too, or customers will hear one thing and read another.
How does Kawl Now work with a help centre?
Kawl Now doesn’t read your help centre automatically. Website import is switched off and there are no help desk connectors, so you add articles as sources: paste each article’s text into a source, or import .md, .mdx or .txt files from GitHub if your docs live there. Each source needs approval before the agent uses it, and a GitHub file needs approval again after every sync.
The widget can run on your help centre as well as your main site, if your help centre lets you add a script tag to its pages. Add the help centre’s exact address, such as https://help.example.com, to the agent’s allowed origins. Each agent takes up to 10, and calls from an address that isn’t listed are refused.
Keep the help centre’s contact options visible beside the widget. When the agent can’t answer, it is told to point callers to your website’s usual contact options, or to offer a person if you’ve turned on handover. Handover is an early release: your team verifies a UK or US phone number and turns handover on for the support or sales agent, and whoever answers hears a private briefing first. Customer routing is still being tested, so keep those contact options in place.
Common questions
Is a help centre the same as a help desk?
No. A help desk is the software your team uses to receive, assign and answer support requests, usually as tickets. A help centre is the public website where customers find answers themselves. Many help desk tools include a help centre feature, which is why the names get mixed up.
Can a voice agent replace a help centre?
No. A help centre lets people read, scan and copy exact steps, links and settings, which suits many questions better than listening. A voice agent suits people who would rather ask. Kawl Now works beside your help centre and answers from the articles your team has approved.