Knowledge has a boundary.

A business website rarely answers every question a customer might ask. Prices may depend on the service, policies may have exceptions and some information may be outdated. A useful assistant needs a way to recognize and handle those gaps. Sounding certain is not a substitute for having the answer.

Build a source checklist.

Start with the material the business wants the agent to rely on. Review opening hours, service descriptions, prices, policies and contact routes. Remove contradictions and identify details that need regular updates. Knowledge quality is an operating responsibility, not a one-time upload.

Choose the right fallback.

Different gaps call for different responses. The assistant might ask a clarifying question, provide the part it knows, explain that a price needs a quote or offer to pass the request to a person. Define these behaviors in plain language. Do not make “ask a human” the only response to every uncertainty.

Test what is missing.

Make a list of questions that are not answered in the source. Include a plausible but nonexistent service and a question about a recent change. Check whether the assistant stays within the information available. Then test a known question phrased in a few different ways. Both coverage and restraint matter.

Carry context into the handoff.

If the customer needs a person, preserve the question and what has already been established. Capture only the information needed to continue. The person receiving the request should be able to act without making the customer start again.

Let unanswered questions improve the service.

Review recurring gaps with the client. Some should become new source material; others should remain human decisions. Over time, that review is how the assistant becomes more useful. The objective is not to answer everything. It is to handle the conversation appropriately.