What is a Knowledge Base?
A knowledge base is a centralized repository for storing, organizing, and retrieving information. In AI contexts, knowledge bases provide structured or unstructured data that AI systems can query to ground their responses in factual information.
Types of Knowledge Bases
Document Stores
- Unstructured text
- PDFs, web pages, docs
- Full-text search
Vector Databases
- Semantic search
- Embedding-based retrieval
- Similarity matching
Knowledge Graphs
- Entity relationships
- Structured queries
- Reasoning capabilities
Structured Databases
- Tables and schemas
- SQL queries
- Defined relationships
Components
Content
- Documents and articles
- FAQs
- Procedures and policies
- Technical documentation
Organization
- Categories and tags
- Hierarchies
- Relationships
Search and Retrieval
- Full-text search
- Semantic search
- Faceted navigation
AI Integration
RAG Systems
- Retrieve relevant context
- Augment LLM prompts
- Ground responses
Agent Tools
- Query knowledge base
- Access factual information
- Provide citations
Implementation
Indexing Pipeline
- Ingest content
- Process and chunk
- Generate embeddings
- Store in database
Retrieval Pipeline
- Receive query
- Generate query embedding
- Search for similar content
- Return results
Best Practices
- Keep content current
- Maintain quality
- Implement access controls
- Monitor usage and gaps
- Regular content audits