What Are Knowledge Sources in Macha? (And How to Add Them)
An agent is only as accurate as what it knows. Knowledge sources are how you give an agent that knowledge: any content it can search and reference when answering. Connect your help center, docs, and policies as knowledge sources, and the agent answers from your truth instead of guessing.
The 50-second version
What a knowledge source is
A knowledge source is simply any content your agent can search through and reference. Your help-center articles, a policy PDF, your website, an internal wiki — once it's a source, the agent can look things up in it to answer a question. You manage them all from the Sources page.
The ways to add one
At the top of the Sources page you've got three quick options, plus connected apps:
- Upload Documents — for files: PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets, CSVs. Good for policies, internal guides, and reference docs. (How to upload documents.)
- Add Website — crawl and index an entire site. Good when you want the agent to know everything on your site or docs. (How to index a website.)
- Add Webpage — index just a single URL when that's all you need.
- Connected apps — your Zendesk Help Center, Notion, Google Workspace, and Confluence can all be sources too.
Live vs. Ready: two kinds of sources
Look at your source list and you'll see status badges — and they tell you something important about how fresh the content is:
- Live (e.g., Google Workspace, Confluence) — these pull content in real time directly from the connected app. Change the doc, and the agent sees the change immediately.
- Ready (e.g., Zendesk Help Center, uploaded files) — these have been indexed and are good to search. They're static snapshots (though the Help Center auto-syncs when you publish/unpublish articles).
That live-vs-indexed distinction is the key to choosing the right kind of source for content that changes — which is its own topic. (See knowledge source vs. tool.)
Why knowledge sources matter
Grounding an agent in real knowledge is what separates an assistant that's confidently wrong from one that's actually right. With good sources connected, the agent cites your documented answers; without them, it guesses. It's the highest-leverage thing you can do for answer quality. (For the deeper how-to on connecting and scoping sources per agent, see connecting a knowledge base to an AI agent.)
Frequently asked questions
What is a knowledge source? Any content your agent can search and reference — help-center articles, docs, a website, an uploaded file.
How do I add one? Upload documents, add a website to crawl, add a single webpage, or connect an app like your Help Center, Notion, or Confluence.
What's the difference between Live and Ready? Live sources pull content in real time from a connected app; Ready sources have been indexed (a snapshot you can search).
Does my Zendesk Help Center stay current? Yes — it auto-syncs as you publish or unpublish articles.
The bottom line
Knowledge sources are the content your agent can search to answer accurately — added by uploading files, crawling a website, indexing a page, or connecting an app. Some are live (real-time) and some are indexed snapshots. Connect the right ones and your agent answers from your truth, not a guess.
Ground your agent: add your help center and docs as knowledge sources. 7-day free trial, no credit card required. Start free.
