Introduction
Custom FAQs allow you to directly train your AI on specific questions and answers, ensuring it provides accurate, consistent responses to common customer inquiries. This powerful feature helps you correct AI responses, highlight important information, and create a more personalized customer experience aligned with your brand.
What Are Custom FAQs?
Custom FAQs are question-answer pairs you create that directly teach your AI how to respond to specific customer inquiries. Unlike other knowledge sources that the AI interprets contextually, Custom FAQs provide explicit instructions for exactly how your AI should answer particular questions.
Benefits of Using Custom FAQs
Direct Control: Explicitly define exactly how your AI responds to specific questions
Quick Corrections: Easily fix any inaccurate AI responses
Consistent Answers: Ensure uniform responses to common customer inquiries
Product Promotion: Highlight specific products by recommending them in answers
Steer Product Discovery: Influence which products your AI recommends when shoppers are searching or browsing for something to buy
Enhanced Knowledge: Fill information gaps not covered by your website or other sources
How to Access Custom FAQs
Log in to your Rep AI Console
Navigate to AI Training → Knowledge Base
Select the Custom FAQs tab
Creating a New Custom FAQ
Option 1: From the Knowledge Base
In the Knowledge Base section, select the Custom FAQs tab
Click the Create New button in the top right corner
Enter the customer's question exactly as they might ask it
Write your preferred answer in the answer field
Click Update to save your new FAQ
Option 2: From Test & Train
Navigate to AI Training → Test & Train
Ask a test question in the chat simulator
If the answer needs improvement, click the Correct the AI button
Enter your preferred response
Save the correction, which creates a new Custom FAQ
Option 3: From the Conversations Page (with Smart Question Formatting)
Creating Custom FAQs directly from customer conversations is now easier with automatic question formatting that transforms customer messages into clear, well-structured questions.
How it works:
Navigate to the Conversations page in your console
Select a conversation from the left panel to view the full transcript
Find an AI response you want to improve
Click the Correct the AI button beneath that specific response
The system automatically formats the customer's original message into a clear, concise question and pre-populates it in the question field
Review the formatted question - you can edit it if needed to better capture the intent
Enter your preferred answer in the answer field
Click Publish to save
Your AI will now use this answer for similar questions in future conversations.
Why this helps:
Customer messages often come in informal formats - incomplete sentences, slang, multiple questions in one message, or unclear phrasing. Instead of manually rewriting these into proper questions, the AI automatically creates a clear, searchable question format while preserving the original intent. This saves you time and ensures your Custom FAQs are consistently well-formatted and easy to find.
Examples of automatic formatting:
Customer writes: "do u have blue ones" → Formatted as: "Do you have products in blue color?"
Customer writes: "shipping to canada how much" → Formatted as: "How much does shipping to Canada cost?"
Customer writes: "return policy?" → Formatted as: "What is your return policy?"
Customer writes: "The size chart is confusing" → Formatted as: "How do I understand your size chart?"
You can always edit the formatted question before publishing if you want to refine it further.
Option 4: From the Missing Information Page
Navigate to Insights → Missing Information in your console
Review the list of questions your AI couldn't answer due to knowledge gaps
Click the Answer button next to a question you want to address
In the dialog box that appears, provide a complete, helpful answer
Click Publish to save your answer as a new Custom FAQ
The question will move to the "Resolved" tab, and your AI will use this answer for future similar questions
Advanced Custom FAQ Features
Link FAQs to Specific Product Pages
When creating or editing a FAQ, look for the Question only relevant to a specific product page section
Click Add specific product page
Search for and select the relevant product(s)
Click Add to associate the FAQ with those specific products
Your FAQ will now only appear when customers view those product pages
Real-World Use Case:
If you sell skincare products and customers frequently ask about ingredients in a particular face cream, you can create a FAQ like "What ingredients are in the Ultra Hydrating Face Cream?" and link it specifically to that product page. This ensures customers browsing that specific face cream receive accurate ingredient information without the same FAQ appearing for unrelated products.
Set Post-Answer Actions
After your AI answers a question, you can direct it to take specific follow-up actions:
When creating or editing a FAQ, find the After giving an answer section
Select one of the following options:
Offer further assistance (Default): The AI will simply ask if the customer needs anything else (e.g., "Is there anything else I can help you with?")
Recommend a product: The AI will suggest specific products related to the question
Recommend a collection: The AI will suggest product collections related to the question
The default option "Offer further assistance" is essentially standard behavior and doesn't add any special functionality. The other options provide more advanced ways to guide the customer journey after answering their question.
Use Cases:
Recommend a product: When a customer asks "Do you have running shoes for beginners?", your AI can answer the question and then automatically suggest your "CloudStep Starter" running shoes with a visual display, making it easier for customers to find and purchase the recommended product.
Recommend a collection: For questions like "What do you recommend for dry skin?", after answering, your AI can showcase your entire "Hydration Collection" with multiple products designed for dry skin, increasing exposure to your product range.
Guide Product Recommendations with Custom FAQs
Custom FAQs don't only answer questions — they also shape which products your AI recommends when a shopper is looking for something to buy.
When a shopper browses or searches for a product (for example, "what do you have for dry, damaged hair?"), Rep AI's Product Finder searches your catalog for the best matches. Your Custom FAQs are now always consulted during that search, so a FAQ you've written reliably influences what the Product Finder shows.
Two ways your FAQs steer recommendations:
When your FAQ names a specific product: If your answer clearly points to a product for a given need (for example, a FAQ for "What's best for thinning hair?" whose answer recommends the RevitaGrow Serum), the Product Finder recommends exactly that product. The shopper gets your intended answer every time.
When your FAQ gives guidance without naming a product: If your FAQ is relevant but doesn't call out a specific item (for example, "For sensitive skin, avoid fragranced products"), the Product Finder treats your FAQ as priority guidance while it searches, favoring matches that fit what you've written.
How to set this up:
There's nothing new to turn on. Create a Custom FAQ the usual way (see "Creating a New Custom FAQ" above) and write the answer the way you want your AI to respond when shoppers are looking for products. To be certain a particular product gets recommended, name that product plainly in your answer — for example, "For color-treated hair, we recommend the ColorGuard Shampoo." Clear, specific answers give the Product Finder the strongest signal.
For more on how product discovery works, see "Find the Right Products for Every Shopper with Product Finder."
Best Practices for Creating Effective Custom FAQs
Writing Natural Questions
Use the exact language your customers typically use
Include common variations of the same question
Keep questions concise but complete
Consider different ways customers might phrase the same inquiry
Creating Detailed, Content-Rich FAQs
Add comprehensive information: The more detailed your FAQ, the higher the chance your AI will select it as a source when answering customer questions
Include specific terminology: Use key terms and phrases that customers are likely to use in their questions
Expand thin answers: If you notice an FAQ isn't being used often, try adding more content, context, and detail to increase its relevance
Cover multiple angles: Address various aspects of the question to make the FAQ more likely to match a wider range of customer inquiries
Use natural language: Write in a conversational style that matches how people actually speak, rather than using technical or formal language
Organizing Your Custom FAQs
Regularly review your list of FAQs for outdated information
Prioritize adding FAQs for your most common customer inquiries
Group related FAQs together for better context
Update answers as your products, policies, or information changes
Monitoring and Improving Your Custom FAQs
Testing Your FAQs
Navigate to AI Training → Test & Train
Type the question from your Custom FAQ (or a variation of it)
Verify that your AI provides the intended answer
Try different phrasings to ensure the FAQ is being matched properly
Analyzing Usage
The Custom FAQs list shows how many times each FAQ has been used in customer conversations, helping you identify which FAQs are most valuable and which might need refinement.
Making Updates
From the Custom FAQs tab, locate the FAQ you want to modify
Click the edit icon (pencil) next to the FAQ
Make your changes to the question or answer
Click Update to save your changes
Troubleshooting Common Issues
FAQ Not Being Used
Ensure your question phrasing matches how customers actually ask
Check if your FAQ is restricted to specific product pages
Try rephrasing the question to better match customer language
Test with variations to see if any triggers your custom answer
Conflicting Information
Review your website content, File Sources, and URL Sources for contradictory information
Consider updating other knowledge sources to maintain consistency
Product Recommendations Not Appearing
Verify you've correctly tagged products in your Custom FAQ
Ensure the products are still active in your store
Test the FAQ in the Test & Train section to confirm functionality
If you want a specific product recommended during product searches, make sure your FAQ answer names that product clearly in plain text, then test it in Test & Train to confirm the Product Finder returns it
Getting the Most from Custom FAQs
Use Custom FAQs to address specific, recurring customer questions
Create FAQs for questions where your AI's current answers need improvement
Update FAQs based on actual customer conversations
Combine with other knowledge sources (File Sources and URL Sources) for comprehensive AI training
Regularly check the Missing Information page to identify new questions that need answers
By thoughtfully creating and managing your Custom FAQs, you can significantly enhance your AI's ability to provide accurate, helpful responses to your customers, ultimately improving their shopping experience and increasing conversions.