When to use
Use this when a customer asks something you cannot answer from memory — how a feature behaves, whether a limit exists, if a bug is known, or what changed in a release. Build a cited answer instead of guessing.
Not for: questions you already know cold (just reply), turning a solved issue into docs (cs-kb-article), or open-ended web research unrelated to the product. If no internal source can settle it, escalate rather than infer.
Method
- Restate the question with the customer's plan, version, and platform pinned. A "does X work" answer often depends on these.
- Search authoritative sources in order: official docs/help center → changelog/release notes → engineering tickets and known-issue lists → prior resolved tickets. Prefer newest and most authoritative.
- Cross-check each claim against at least two sources. Decision point: if sources conflict, favor the one closest to current product state (dated release notes beat old docs) and note the conflict.
- Label each finding as documented behavior or observed/anecdotal, with source and date.
- Decision point: if no source confirms it, mark "unconfirmed — needs eng verification" and stop — do not reason your way to an answer.
- Draft for the customer's level, then attach the internal source trail so a teammate can re-verify.
Example
Q: Can Business-plan users export more than 10k rows? (v3.2, web) A: Yes — the 10k cap was raised to 100k for Business and above. Confidence: High. Sources: Changelog 2026-05-12 "Export limit raised to 100k (Business+)"; Docs → Exports → Limits (updated 2026-05-14). Both agree. Gap: none.
Pitfalls
- Answering from one source — a single stale doc is how wrong answers ship.
- Blending documented and anecdotal behavior without labels.
- Guessing to avoid saying "unconfirmed" — a wrong confident answer costs more than a delay.
- Dropping the source trail, so no one can verify or reuse your work.
Output format
Question: <restated + plan/version/platform>
Answer: <concise, customer-ready>
Confidence: High / Medium / Low
Sources:
- <claim> → <title, date, link>
Conflicts / gaps: <or "none">
Next step if unconfirmed: <who verifies>