Build a chatbot that answers questions from your own documents

The chatbot reads a reference document once and then answers staff or customer questions using only that content.

How the work actually flows

It branches. Exactly one path is taken.

Pattern: Exclusive Choice (4)

flowchart TD trig>"a question is asked"]:::trig s0["chunk and embed document"]:::task s1["search chunks for question"]:::task trig --> s0 s0 --> s1 gx{"× is answer in document"}:::gate s1 --> gx p00["generate answer from content"]:::task gx -->|"answer found"| p00 p10["say answer is unknown"]:::task gx -->|"answer not found"| p10 p00 --> out p10 --> out out[/"accurate source based chat answer"/]:::out pay{{"trusted answers without guessing"}}:::pay out --> pay classDef task fill:#e7f6fe,stroke:#34b8f0,color:#2c2a29 classDef svc fill:#f6f8fa,stroke:#7c8795,color:#2c2a29 classDef mi fill:#e7f6fe,stroke:#0079a8,color:#2c2a29,stroke-width:2px classDef human fill:#fff,stroke:#0079a8,color:#0079a8 classDef store fill:#f6f8fa,stroke:#0079a8,color:#2c2a29 classDef trig fill:#00a4eb,stroke:#0079a8,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef trigtime fill:#00a4eb,stroke:#0079a8,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef trigdata fill:#8ad4f5,stroke:#0079a8,color:#06314c,font-weight:bold classDef gate fill:#fff,stroke:#e8a23d,color:#6b4708,font-weight:bold classDef out fill:#1f9d6b,stroke:#167a53,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef pay fill:#06314c,stroke:#021f33,color:#fff
Starts itA stepOne path onlyResultPayoff
Build size
Advanced

A larger build with multiple systems, AI reasoning, and custom rules.

Business functions
AI Agents & Autonomous SystemsAI Chatbots & AssistantsKnowledge Base & RAG
Connects
Google Gemini

The problem it solves

Your team or customers keep asking the same questions that are already answered in a manual, policy document, or rulebook. You don't want a generic chatbot making things up when the real answer already exists in your own paperwork.

Who it fits

A business or organization that wants staff or customers to get accurate answers from a specific rulebook, manual, or policy document.

How it works

  1. A reference document is loaded once and broken into searchable chunks
  2. Each chunk is converted into a format the AI can search by meaning
  3. When someone asks a question in chat, the system finds the most relevant chunks
  4. The AI answers using only that content, and says so if the answer isn't in the document
What you get

Answers pulled straight from your own rulebook

Staff or customers can ask a question and get an answer pulled directly from your own manual or policy document.

What you get

A chat interface that gives accurate, source-based answers instead of guesses, and admits when it doesn't know.

What you need

A Google Gemini API key.

We can build this. But should you?

The hard question is not how to build it. It is whether this is the right thing to build first.

That is what a Fractional Chief AI Officer figures out with you, before anyone writes a line of code.

Let's Talk Strategy

Related automations

Scrape and organize website content with AI for search and research

It reads a list of website URLs, cleans and classifies the content with AI, and stores it for fast search later.

Advanced

Manage your Google Calendar and get a daily AI briefing by chat

Book, reschedule, and cancel meetings by chatting or talking, and get a morning summary of your day.

Advanced

Build a chatbot that answers questions from your own files

Upload your company documents to Google Drive and chat with an AI that already knows what's in them.

Advanced

Research and write SEO-ready WordPress articles automatically

Give it a topic and it researches the web, writes a full article, and drafts it in WordPress.

Standard
Back to the AI Playbook