Custom Answers lets you control how Smart Answers responds to specific searches. Instead of generating an AI response, Smart Answers can display a response that you write and approve.
Use Custom Answers for important topics where visitors should receive consistent information, such as policies, procedures, or frequently asked questions.
Before You Begin
Make sure Smart Answers is available for your account and enabled for the Search Profile you want to configure.
For general setup instructions, see Smart Answers.
Create a Custom Answer
- Select the app and Search Profile you want to configure.
- Go to Optimizations > Smart Answers > Custom Answers.
- Select Create.
- Under Trigger Conditions, enter the keywords or phrases that should trigger your Custom Answer.
- Write your response in the Override Answer editor.
- Select Save Draft to save the Custom Answer without publishing it.
- Select Publish when you’re ready to publish the Custom Answer.
New Custom Answers are enabled by default. You can disable a Custom Answer without deleting its configuration.
Configure Trigger Conditions
Each Custom Answer supports up to 10 trigger keywords or phrases.
When you specify multiple triggers, Smart Answers applies AND logic. A search query must contain all configured triggers for the Custom Answer to match.
For example, suppose you configure these triggers:
- admissions
- International students
The query “How do international students apply for admissions?” contains both triggers and matches this Custom Answer. The query “What are the admissions requirements?” is missing the phrase “international students” and doesn’t match. A query must contain every configured trigger; either trigger alone isn’t enough. If both an admissions-only Custom Answer and one with admissions and international students match, the latter takes precedence.
Trigger matching doesn't automatically include variations of your keywords or apply configured synonyms. Matching is case insensitive and does not match partial words.
Note: Advanced regular-expression matching isn't available in this release.
Write an Override Answer
Use the Override Answer editor to write the response you want visitors to see.
The editor supports rich-text formatting and has a maximum of 500 words.
When a published, enabled Custom Answer matches a visitor's search, Smart Answers uses the saved response instead of generating an AI answer.
A matching Custom Answer bypasses question detection and the Intent and Reasoning Controls.
You can edit the response later without recreating the Custom Answer.
Manage Custom Answers
The Custom Answers tab displays your existing configurations.
You can:
- Edit a Custom Answer to change its triggers or response.
- Enable or disable a Custom Answer. Disabled configurations remain saved but aren't used to respond to searches.
- Delete a Custom Answer you no longer need. Deletion requires confirmation and can't be undone. Publish the deletion for it to take effect for visitors.
- Search for Custom Answers by trigger keyword.
- Sort the table by status or trigger conditions.
When you create or edit a Custom Answer, select Save Draft to save changes without publishing them. Select Publish when you're ready for the changes to take effect.
You can manage Custom Answers separately for each Search Profile. Custom Answers are included when you copy an app or Search Profile.
Review Your Custom Answers
After publishing, test queries that should match your trigger conditions and queries that shouldn't.
Check that:
- The intended Custom Answer appears for matching searches.
- The response contains the correct information.
- Queries that don't match every required trigger don't display the override.
- Disabled Custom Answers aren't used.
For other ways to improve AI-generated responses, see Tuning Smart Answers.