Grounded answers
ZENIA can generate source-grounded answers: AI responses supported by content from your indexed knowledge sources. Replies can include citations and a confidence level so visitors can see which sources helped support the answer.
Overview
What are grounded answers?
Grounded answers are responses based on the content available for your domain, such as website pages, uploaded files, and custom text. When a visitor asks a question, ZENIA looks for relevant information in those sources and uses it to prepare the reply. This helps keep answers closer to your actual content instead of relying only on general AI knowledge.
Citations
Citations
Grounded answers can include citation chips below the message bubble when supporting sources are available and citation display is enabled. Citations tell visitors which source helped support the answer. Depending on the source type and settings, clicking a citation may open the original page or file.
| Source type | Citation label example |
|---|---|
| Website page | example.com/about |
| Uploaded file | Company FAQ.pdf - p. 3 |
| Custom text | Custom text |
Display
helpPages.groundedAnswers.displayHeading
helpPages.groundedAnswers.displayText
Confidence
Confidence levels
A grounded answer can include a confidence level based on how well the available sources support the reply. This helps you understand whether the answer is strongly supported, partially supported, or limited by the available knowledge.
| Level | Meaning | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| High | Strong supporting sources were found | The answer can be shown with citations when citation display is enabled. |
| Medium | Some useful supporting sources were found | The answer can be shown with citations, but the source coverage may be less complete. |
| Low | Weak or no useful supporting sources were found | ZENIA may show a limited answer or a fallback message instead of presenting an unsupported answer as certain. |
Fallback
Fallback behavior
When the available sources do not support a confident answer, ZENIA can show a fallback response instead of presenting unsupported information as fact. This usually means the domain needs clearer, more complete, or more up-to-date knowledge sources for that topic.
Sources
Knowledge sources
Grounded answers can use the knowledge sources available for the domain:
- Website pages - content collected from crawled pages.
- Uploaded files - supported documents that you upload and index from the File Uploads section.
- Custom text - knowledge entries added manually in the dashboard.
Tips
Tips for best results
- Keep content fresh - re-index your domain after important website changes.
- Upload key documents - product manuals, FAQs, and policy documents make useful sources.
- Use descriptive headings - clear structure helps ZENIA understand what each page or document is about.
- Review weak answers - if many answers have low confidence, your knowledge sources may need more content on those topics.
Configuration
Configuration
Grounded answers are controlled through the product settings available for your domain and plan. These settings can affect how sources are used, whether citations are displayed, and how conservative ZENIA should be when source support is weak.
| Control | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Grounded answers | Enabled where available | Allows ZENIA to answer using the indexed knowledge sources connected to the domain. |
| Source matching | Managed by ZENIA | Controls how strictly ZENIA selects source material before preparing an answer. |
| Citation display | Enabled where available | Controls whether source citation chips are shown below supported answers. |
| Fallback handling | Enabled where available | Helps avoid presenting unsupported answers as certain when the available sources are weak or missing. |
Summary
Grounded answers help ZENIA produce responses that are connected to your own website, uploaded files, and custom knowledge. For best results, keep those sources clear, complete, and up to date.