We’re all hearing the same drumbeat: “AI is coming.” Let’s be honest AI is already here. Whether it’s automating responses in your contact center or personalizing recommendations on your website, artificial intelligence is weaving its way into our operations. But here’s the catch: without a solid knowledge management strategy, your AI investment could turn into a very expensive guessing game.
Too many leaders are chasing the shiny promise of AI without laying the foundation that actually makes it work – and that foundation is knowledge. Customer service leaders especially are under the gun, with pressure from executive teams to roll out AI fast. And when AI gets fast-tracked without the right foundation, things break.
So before you chase the next AI pitch, it’s time to ask yourself a hard question:
Is your knowledge management strategy helping you get ready for AI or silently setting you up to fail?
Let’s Get Real About the Role of Knowledge
AI doesn’t pull the right answer out of thin air. It learns from patterns, data, and information—specifically, your information. If your internal knowledge base is outdated, incomplete, or locked in someone’s head or in old PowerPoint slides, that’s the quality of answer your AI will deliver. Garbage in, garbage out.
And here’s the real risk: leaders who haven’t invested in a strong knowledge foundation may not just miss the mark on AI, they may damage their credibility. Careers and reputations are on the line when AI initiatives fail, especially when it becomes clear the issue wasn’t the tech, it was the messy knowledge feeding it.
And in today’s world, there’s just so much noise. So many tools, trends, and promises. The companies that cut through it are the ones that get back to basics: accurate knowledge, structured well, and delivered where and when it’s needed.
And let’s not forget one critical point: knowledge has to move at conversational speed. Whether it’s a customer service agent talking to a frustrated customer, or a chatbot responding to a support request, the right answer has to show up in seconds, not minutes. If agents are scrambling, clicking through documents, or second-guessing the knowledge they see, AI won’t fix that. It will only magnify it.
This is where leadership matters. AI success isn’t a tech issue. It’s a leadership issue. Leaders who invest in clean, usable, and human-centered knowledge practices are the ones who will see AI improve productivity, reduce costs, and boost both employee and customer experience.
The rest? They’ll be the ones wondering why their “cutting-edge” AI tool just gave the wrong answer to a top customer.
Beyond Automation: Build Something Smarter
Leaders love efficiency. And yes, AI can help streamline processes and reduce manual effort. But if your knowledge strategy is only focused on efficiency, you’re missing the bigger opportunity.
The best knowledge strategies do more than feed your chatbot or support ticket deflection rate – they prepare your organization to learn faster, adapt quicker, and serve better.
But here’s a question not enough leaders ask: what technology are you actually using for knowledge today?
If your answer is “SharePoint” or “OneNote,” you’re not alone – but you’re also not ready. Those are document holders, not knowledge management systems. If you want to fuel AI, you need a cutting-edge knowledge management system, one that structures information for people and for machines. That’s what makes your content AI-ready.
And that kind of strategy starts with asking the right questions.
3 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Right Now:
- Do our teams trust the knowledge we have?
If the answer is “sometimes” or “depends who’s working,” you’ve got a problem. AI will pull from whatever it can access. If your people hesitate to use your knowledge base because it’s outdated, inconsistent, or buried in silos, AI won’t fix that. In fact, it might just amplify the problem. - Is our knowledge structured in a way that AI can use it?
Structured doesn’t mean uploading a PDF into a folder. It means your information is broken down into digestible, searchable, up-to-date elements. That’s what makes it AI-ready. If you don’t know how your knowledge is structured, chances are, neither will your AI. This is where the right knowledge management software can really be an asset with a strong ROI. - Is our knowledge management strategy built for people or built for software?
AI is a tool. People are the heartbeat of your organization. Your knowledge strategy should serve your employees, your customers, your partners first. If it’s designed only to fit into a software system instead of helping people do their jobs better, AI will never reach its potential and you won’t realize the ROI you are looking for.
Ready for AI? Start with Knowledge
If you’re serious about AI, get serious about your knowledge. That doesn’t mean a new platform (though sometimes that helps). It means building a culture where knowledge is valued, maintained, and constantly improved.
It means reducing friction so agents, employees, and even your AI tools can find what they need when they need it. It means building systems that aren’t just tech-savvy, but people-smart.
Because the truth is this: AI will only be as strong as the knowledge you feed it.
So if you’re betting big on AI, bet just as big on knowledge management. And if you’re not sure where to start, begin by answering those three questions. Honestly. Your future success may depend on it.
Vicki Brackett is a contact center industry veteran, a long time CCNG member and regular contributor in member programs and events. Recognized as a subject-matter expert on virtual/work-at-home environments and leadership development, Vicki helps members in a variety of topic areas including innovative and progressive solutions that impact increasing higher CSATs, first call resolution, new agent speed to competency and higher productivity…all while engaging team members and reversing high absenteeism and attrition.
