Categories organise your knowledge base so customers can find the article they need. They are the top level of the structure: categories contain sections, and sections contain articles.
Knowledge base categories are entirely separate from ticket categories. You can structure your help centre around what customers need to know without affecting how tickets are classified.
Each brand and each language has its own set of categories.
Before you begin
You need:
- A role with permission to manage categories in the knowledge base.
- The correct brand and language selected - categories do not sync across either.
Decide the category name customers will recognise before you create it. Category names are navigation: customers scan them and decide where to click.
Step 1 - Open Manage Categories
- Go to Knowledge Base > Dashboard.
- Confirm the brand and language at the top of the page.
- Select Manage Categories (top right).
The panel lists every category for that brand and language.
Step 2 - Add the category
- Select Add Category.
- Enter a name - use the customer's words, not an internal team name. "Payments and refunds" beats "Billing Ops".
- Choose whether the category should be visible on the public knowledge base and chatbot, or kept internal.
- Select Save.
The category is immediately available to assign to articles.
Public and internal categories
The visibility setting decides whether customers ever see the category:
Public - Appears in the help centre and can be browsed in the chatbot
Internal - Holds content your team needs but customers should not browse
Internal categories keep process content out of the customer's way. They are not a security boundary - do not use them for anything sensitive.
Naming categories well
- Describe the subject, not the department. Customers do not know which team owns what.
- Be specific enough to be useful. "Other" and "General" collect everything and help nobody.
- Keep the top level short. A dozen well-named categories are easier to scan than thirty.
After you create a category
- Add sections to divide it into more specific areas
- Assign articles to it from the article editor.
- Create the equivalent category in your other languages, since structures do not sync.
Troubleshooting
The category is not appearing. Check you are on the correct brand and language, and that it saved.
I cannot see it when assigning an article. Categories are brand and language specific. Confirm the article is being written under the same brand and language.
I cannot open Manage Categories. Your role needs knowledge base permission to manage categories - ask an administrator to update it.