How to upload documents to the knowledge base
Uploading documents to the Salesforce knowledge base requires a Service Cloud license, manually creating a Knowledge Article, and attaching the file as a reference, since Salesforce Knowledge does not automatically index PDF content. The process takes about 35 minutes. In Teeo, you attach the PDF and the assistant indexes it instantly.
How to do it in Teeo
“Upload this document to the knowledge base [PDF attached]”
The document is indexed in the knowledge base and the assistant can search and cite its content.
How to upload documents to the knowledge base in Salesforce: step by step
Requirements
- ·Salesforce Knowledge does not natively index the content of uploaded PDFs for search. The recommended approach is to create a Knowledge Article and include the document content as text, then attach the PDF as a reference file.
- ·Requires a Service Cloud license in addition to the base Salesforce license. An administrator must enable Knowledge from Setup beforehand.
- ·If you only need to store the file without making it searchable, you can use Salesforce Files (App Launcher > Files > Upload). However, the PDF content will not be available in Knowledge searches.
Log in and verify your Service Cloud license
Go to login.salesforce.com and enter your credentials. Confirm that your organization has Service Cloud active and that Salesforce Knowledge is enabled. If not, an administrator must activate it from Setup > Service > Knowledge Settings.
Open the App Launcher and navigate to Knowledge
Click the grid icon (App Launcher) in the upper left corner. Type 'Knowledge' in the search box and select the 'Knowledge' application from the results.
Create a new Knowledge Article
Click the 'New' button in the upper right of the articles list. A creation form will open. Select the appropriate article type (FAQ, How-To, Reference) based on what your administrator has configured.
Complete the article title
In the 'Title' field, enter a descriptive title that reflects the content of the PDF document you are uploading. For example: 'Product Manual — Series X200'.
Transfer the PDF content to the article body
Open the PDF in an external reader, select the main text, and copy it. Paste it into the rich text editor of the Knowledge Article. This is necessary because Salesforce Knowledge does not automatically extract or index text from attached PDFs.
Attach the PDF as a reference file
In the article form, scroll down to the 'Files' or 'Attachments' section. Click 'Upload Files', select the PDF from your computer, and wait for the upload to complete. The PDF will be attached to the article as a downloadable reference.
Assign categories and labels
In the right sidebar panel, assign the article to the appropriate data categories. This helps agents find the article through search filters in Knowledge.
Publish the article
Click the 'Publish' button at the top of the form. Confirm in the dialog box. The article will be published and its text content will be indexed and searchable in Salesforce Knowledge.
Verify the article is searchable
Go to Salesforce's global search or the Knowledge module and type keywords from the document. Confirm that the article appears in the results. If it doesn't appear, wait a few minutes for the search index to update.
Frequently asked questions
Does Salesforce Knowledge index the content of uploaded PDFs?
Not natively. Salesforce Knowledge does not extract or index the text of attached PDFs. To make the content searchable, you must manually copy the document text into the Knowledge Article body and attach the PDF as a downloadable reference.
How many steps does it take to upload a document to the Salesforce knowledge base?
There are 9 steps: verify Service Cloud license, navigate to Knowledge, create an article, complete the title, transfer PDF content to the article body, attach the PDF, assign categories, publish, and verify search. It takes approximately 35 minutes.
What is the fastest way to upload and make a document searchable?
With Teeo, you attach the PDF to the chat and the assistant automatically indexes it in the knowledge base. The content becomes available for searches in under a minute, with no need to copy text or configure licenses.