The manual exists, but nobody finds the page
Hypothetical example: a small equipment installer receives configuration questions. Manuals are scattered across folders, emails and manufacturers' websites. The person answering customers keeps asking the same colleague, even about previously resolved issues. The missing piece is timely access to the right information.
Before commissioning an application, try an organised folder, consistent filenames and a model index. If that resolves common enquiries, it may be enough. Custom search becomes worth considering when documents, versions or disconnected tools make that approach impractical.
Identify the equipment and version first
Nearly identical products can require different instructions. Keep the exact model and, where relevant, equipment or software version with the question. If that information is missing, ask for it rather than choosing the closest-looking manual.
Start with a small inventory. There is no need to send every company document with an initial enquiry.
- The model covered by each document.
- Version or date, and whether it is current, replaced or awaiting review.
- Document source and the person responsible for updates.
- Who may consult it: internal staff or customers.
A useful answer leads back to its source
A first application can display a matching passage and a link to the manual section or page, so an employee can check it before replying. Scanned PDFs may need text extraction. Tables, diagrams and page numbering need review because extraction can lose information.
If AI drafts an answer, document retrieval and generation remain separate steps. Microsoft describes retrieval-augmented generation as finding content and supplying it to the model alongside the question. A citation helps review an answer; it does not prove correctness on its own.
An unanswered question should become a task
Agree what happens when there is no sufficient source, manuals contradict each other or the model is unknown. A useful fallback is to state what is missing and refer the question to a person, retaining the question and reviewed documents.
For a first pilot, we propose an internal assistant: it prepares information and an employee decides what to communicate. WhatsApp integration, automatic public replies and changes to equipment are separate scopes. Document access permissions must be enforced during retrieval.
Checks to agree before accepting delivery
Use questions reviewed by someone familiar with the equipment and reserve others for the final assessment. These are proposed criteria, not results from an Adaris customer deployment.
- A known question retrieves the correct manual and version.
- An unanswered question does not become an invented instruction.
- Similar models do not exchange instructions.
- A withdrawn manual stops being used as a current source.
- An account without permission receives no restricted passages.
- The answer's link opens the source that actually supports it.
Keep the first delivery reviewable
A first scope can cover one product family, one internal team and an agreed set of manuals. It can include document loading and updates, search, visible sources, unresolved enquiries and acceptance checks. Use an existing tool when it already covers those needs.
To assess the work, describe document volume and formats, who asks questions and what they need to find. A quote should separate document preparation, development, hosting, any AI service usage and maintenance. Adaris assesses custom applications from Elche for SMEs in Alicante and across Spain, with commercial communication in Spanish. This is a proposed service scope, not a ready-to-install product or an accuracy guarantee.
Related services
Sources
Which question always goes to the same colleague?
Describe one example without customer data and tell us where the answer is stored. We can assess a first internal search tool. Do not attach confidential manuals or credentials to the initial enquiry. Commercial communication is in Spanish.