Available in Element Core. See our packages overview for details.

Overview

Your Knowledge Hub is only as strong as the sources you add to it. In this article, you’ll learn how to add and manage different source types — including text, URLs, website sitemaps, file uploads, and custom answers. You’ll also see how to keep your knowledge up to date with features like Daily Sync and New Page Detection, organize sources with folders and categories, and troubleshoot common issues.

By following the steps outlined here, you’ll build a well-structured, accurate Knowledge Hub that powers smarter, more reliable answers across Bolt Agents and Bolt Discovery.

Add a Source (All Types)

Go to Data + Automations > Knowledge
Select "Public" or "Private" from the left-hand menu (the repository you want to add the source to)
Click + New Source in the header
Configure:
- Title: Use meaningful titles (“Admissions: Deadlines 2025”, “FA: SAP Policy”). It helps your team and also assists Bolt Agents in selecting the best source.
- Type: Source types are explained in the next section
- Folder: Optional, but highly recommended to keep your sources organized (see Folders section below for more details)
- Categories: Optional, but highly recommended for organization, and also because you can scope a Bolt Agent's access to knowledge by Category
- Type-specific fields: Upon selecting a source type, you'll be prompted to configure its specific details.
  - Text: Content
  - URL: URL, Sync Daily
  - Website: URL, Sync Daily, New Page Detection
  - File Upload: File
  - Custom Answers: Question and Answer
Save. The source will enter the "Learning" state and take a few minutes to be ingested.

Source Types

Text

Paste plain text (rich formatting/links aren’t retained)

When pasting data from a table or similar source, ensure that it is clear which data relates to which other data
Bolt AI can parse dense blocks of text, but you may want to organize it/make it legible to make it easier for a human editor can maintain it

URL (Single Page) + Website (Sitemap)

You can load pages from your website into the Knowledge Hub using two methods: URL and Website sources:

1) URL (Single Page)

Ingest a single, specific page (e.g., https://school.edu/admissions-faq)

Enable optional Sync Daily (see Daily Sync section below)

📌 Note: When a URL source contributes to an answer in Messenger or Bolt Discovery, the source citation may be visible to the contact, depending on the feature and your settings. Refer to the Citations section below for more information.

2) Website (Sitemap)

Enter a root domain (auto-detect robots.txt/sitemap.xml) or a specific sitemap URL (.xml or .xml.gz). The sitemap will load, allowing you to choose which pages you wish to ingest.

When a sitemap is loaded, you’ll see the main file Element451 used to discover related sitemaps (e.g., robots.txt, sitemap index). Related sitemaps are listed beneath it (e.g., news, video, events).
Compressed .xml.gz files are supported and ingested just like standard XML sitemaps.
If you enter a root domain (e.g., elementuniversity.edu), Element451 will look for a robots.txt or a standard sitemap.xml.
If you enter a URL ending in .xml, Element451 treats it as the explicit sitemap and bypasses robots.txt.

Enable optional Daily Sync and New Page Detection (see Daily Sync + New Page Detection section below)

📌 Note: When a Website source contributes to an answer in Messenger or Bolt Discovery, the source citation may be visible to the contact, depending on the feature and your settings. Refer to the Citations section below for more information

Daily Sync (URL + Website Sources)

When "Daily Sync" is enabled for a URL or Website source, Bolt AI detects updates via, in priority order:

HTTP headers
- ETag: Reindex if different from the previous value
- Last-Modified header variations: last-modified, x-last-modified, x-amz-meta-last-modified
- Content hashes: x-content-hash, content-md5, x-checksum
- AWS S3 version: x-amz-version-id
Sitemap
- Fetches sitemap.xml (or sitemaps listed in robots.txt)
- Checks the lastmod value for the specific page
HTML Meta Tags
- Modified/Updated dates: article:modified_time, og:updated_time, last-modified, DC.date.modified, dcterms.modified, modified, updated, revised
- Published/Created dates: article:published_time, og:article:published_time, DC.date, DC.date.created, dcterms.created, date, publish_date, publishdate, pubdate, created
Structured Data
- JSON-LD: dateModified, datePublished, dateCreated
- Schema.org microdata: itemprop="dateModified", itemprop="datePublished"
- HTML5 <time> tags with datetime attributes
RSS item timestamps
- Compares the isoDate field from RSS feed items against the last indexed date

If a change is detected, the page is re-indexed; if not, it’s skipped.

✨ Pro Tip: For the most accurate and timely updates, include at least one of the high-priority indicators—such as an ETag header, a Last-Modified header, or an accurate lastmod date in your sitemap.

New Page Detection (Website Sources)

When Daily Sync is enabled for a Website Source, you have the option to turn on the Detect New Pages feature.

Element451 automatically detects and ingests new pages added to your sitemap.
Use the New Pages Filter to limit detection to specific paths (e.g., /blog/). If no filter is set, all new pages will be ingested.

File Upload

File types supported: .eml, .html, .json, .md, .msg, .rst, .rtf, .txt, .xml, .jpeg, .png, .csv, .doc/.docx, .epub, .odt, .pdf, .ppt/.pptx, .tsv, .xlsx

⚠️ Particularly large files can cause parsing errors. While there is no strict file size maximum, files exceeding 10MB tend to have a higher failure rate. While you can simply retry to learn the file, we recommend breaking larger files into smaller content chunks of approximately 10MB or less.

📌 Note: When a File Upload source contributes to an answer in Bolt Discovery, the source citation is always visible and accessible to the contact in the thread. Refer to the Citations section below for more information.

Custom Answers (Groups of Q&A Pairs)

Custom answers are predetermined question-and-answer pairs for your most frequently asked and important questions (think high-impact FAQs and precise facts).

Custom Answers are given priority but are not repeated word-for-word. See the Custom Answer Behavior section below for more details.

Adding Custom Answers + Importing/Exporting

To add a new custom answer or group of customer answers:

Click the + sign. The sidesheet will open for you to add your question and answer pairs. Note: You do not need to add each custom answer as a separate source. You can add as many relevant questions and answers to this "group" as you would like.
Give the source a title at the top of the page. For example, if you add questions about the application process, you can title it "application process."
Type your question (e.g., How do I apply?)
Type your answer (e.g., You can apply to Training University by completing a common application or using the TU application at apply.training.edu.)
You can add additional Q&A pairs to this "group" of custom answers by clicking the + sign again, or if you are finished, click Save.

Importing and Downloading Custom Answers

You can import an existing list of questions and answers via a CSV file. Click the upload button and attach your file (it must contain two columns: question and answer). If you are editing an existing group of custom answers, importing a CSV file will overwrite the current data with the questions and answers from the imported file.
To export or download this group of custom answers, click the download button to initiate a CSV file download.
If you need to update an existing group of custom answers, we recommend using the download feature, editing the CSV file provided, saving your changes, and then importing the updated CSV file back into Element451.

Important: Custom Answer Behavior

Custom Answers are prioritized over other sources, and Bolt Agents may paraphrase these answers appropriately and include additional information from other relevant sources.

For example, let's take this Custom Answer:

Q: "How many programs are offered at Element University?

A: There are 20 undergraduate programs, 10 graduate programs, and 5 certificate programs."

When asked about the programs at Element University, the agent might say, "Element University offers a total of 35 programs."

While this paraphrase is accurate, it's not a word-for-word match. The agent uses the content of the Custom Answer but adapts it based on the conversation's context.

Citations in Answers

When a URL or File Upload source contributes to an answer, the source citation may be visible to the contact, depending on the feature and your settings.

The citation enables contacts to access more context and directly view the sources that informed their answers, thereby improving trust, usability, and engagement.

Bolt AI Feature	Source Type	Citation Behavior
Bolt Agents via Messenger Channel	-URL -Website	Not displayed by default. You must enable "Display Knowledge Sources to User" in Bolt Agent Settings.
Bolt Discovery	-URL -Website -File Upload	Displayed by default and cannot be disabled.

Next Steps + Additional Resources

Getting Started with Knowledge Hub

Understand what the Knowledge Hub is, how Bolt AI uses it, and the key steps to set up your knowledge base in the Getting Started with Knowledge Hub help article.

Editing + Managing Knowledge Hub Sources

Learn how to organize your Knowledge Hub with folders and categories, filter and sort sources, perform bulk actions, and keep everything accurate with editing and relearning tools in the Managing Knowledge Hub Sources help article.

Advanced Knowledge Hub Strategy + Governance

Explore best practices for curating clear, concise, and up-to-date knowledge, setting up governance, and using Insights Dashboards and spot-checks in the Advanced Knowledge Hub Strategy & Governance help article.