Knowledge Search

With the Knowledge Search functionality in HALO, you can search through your Knowledge and generate an answer.

The Knowledge Search option will, using a query as input, search through your Knowledge to find the most relevant Sources and try to generate an answer. There are three possible outcomes:

Answer

If HALO can answer the user query using Knowledge, an answer will be generated. The tool result includes the answer text, the reasoning behind it, and the sources that were used.

Example tool result:

{
  "type": "answer",
  "response": "You can return your product within 14 days of receiving it. Register your return via the return portal and send it back using the provided shipping label.",
  "reasoning": "The user asks about the return policy. Source 3 and 7 describe the return process and timeframes.",
  "sources": [
    {"type": "web-page", "url": "https://example.com/returns", "content": "..."},
    {"type": "file", "file_name": "return-policy.pdf", "content": "..."}
  ],
  "instruction": "Use the response field to answer the user. Do not add information, suggestions, or actions that are not in the response."
}

Field	Description
`type`	`"answer"`
`response`	The generated answer based on your Knowledge. This text is ready to be sent to the end user as is.
`reasoning`	A short explanation of how the answer was derived. For internal use only, should not be shown to the end user.
`sources`	The Knowledge Sources that were used to compose the answer. See Source types below.
`instruction`	Tells the calling agent how to handle the response.

Clarifying Question

If the user query is too vague or unclear to generate a good answer, HALO will respond with a clarifying question. This helps guide the user to provide more context so a proper answer can be given in a follow up.

Example tool result:

JSON

{
  "type": "clarifying_question",
  "response": "Could you let me know what specifically you'd like to know about your order? For example, are you looking for delivery status, return options, or payment information?",
  "reasoning": "The user query is too vague to determine intent. A clarifying question is needed.",
  "sources": [],
  "instruction": "Ask the user this clarifying question. Do not add information that is not in the response."
}

Field	Description
`type`	`"clarifying_question"`
`response`	A clarifying question to send back to the user. This text is ready to be sent to the end user as is.
`reasoning`	A short explanation of why a clarifying question was asked. For internal use only.
`sources`	Can be empty, since no Sources were used.
`instruction`	Tells the calling agent how to handle the response.

No Answer

If the available Knowledge does not contain enough information to answer the user query, HALO returns a no_answer type. This means you should handle the conversation yourself, for example by forwarding to a live agent or showing a fallback message.

Example tool result:

JSON

{
  "type": "no_answer",
  "response": "I'm sorry, I can't help with that. Is there something else I can help you with?",
  "reasoning": "The user asks about opening hours. None of the available Sources contain this information.",
  "instruction": "Use the response field to answer the user. Do not add information, suggestions, or actions that are not in the response."
}

Field	Description
`type`	`"no_answer"`
`response`	A default fallback message. This can be overridden in your bot flow.
`reasoning`	A short explanation of why no answer could be given. For internal use only.
`instruction`	Tells the calling agent how to handle the response.

Date and time awareness

HALO knows the current day of the week, date, and time. This allows it to answer time-sensitive questions, for example "Are you open today?", "Is the summer promotion still valid?", or "When will my order arrive if I order now?".

The current_datetime system context can be configured to change the timezone, so that HALO reasons with the correct local time for your customers.

Source types

When the Knowledge Search uses Sources to generate an answer, those Sources are included in the tool result. Depending on the type of Knowledge Source, they are formatted differently:

Source type	`type` in response	Fields	Description
Web crawler	`"web-page"`	`url`, `content`	A page that was crawled from a website. The `url` field contains the original page URL.
API connection	`"external-knowledge"`	`url`, `content`	Data retrieved from an external API connection. The `url` field contains the url to the original knowledge source page (depending on the integration).
File	`"file"`	`file_name`, `content`	An uploaded file (e.g. PDF, document). The `file_name` field contains the original file name.
Other	`"other"`	`content`	Any other source type.