How does the chatbot know someone is staff?

They sign in on your agent's chat page with a login you give them in Team, where their role is set. A role is never taken from what someone types.

Can customers see internal documents?

No, when access is by role. Anyone not signed in, including every WhatsApp and Telegram customer, is answered only from categories ticked for Everyone, and untagged sources aren't used for anyone.

Can I use it as an internal helpdesk?

Yes. Set “Who can chat” to signed-in people only, give your staff chat logins in Team, and the agent answers only them, from the knowledge their roles may read.

Can staff use role-based answers on WhatsApp?

Not today. On WhatsApp, Telegram and calls nobody signs in, so everyone there gets the Everyone answers. Staff use the chat page for role-based answers.

How do I check what each role sees?

In the Playground, chat as any of the agent's roles and ask the same question.

Which plans include chat logins for staff?

Knowledge access is in every agent's settings; chat logins for your staff are on the Growth plan and up, after a 14-day free trial with no card.

Knowledge access by role

One AI agent, with different knowledge for customers and staff

Tag your knowledge by category and tick which roles may be answered from each. Customers, who aren't signed in, only get answers from what you allow everyone; staff who sign in on the chat page also get answers from internal knowledge for their role, such as a staff handbook or supplier terms. Nobody can claim a role by typing it.

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Updated 5 November 2026

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How it works

How access works

Step 1Sort knowledge into categories
Create categories such as Prices or Staff handbook, and tag each page and file with one in Knowledge.
Step 2Tick who may read what
In Settings › Access, choose “By role” and tick, for each category, Everyone and each of your roles.
Step 3Give people a role
Add staff in Team with chat access and a role; they sign in on your agent's chat page.
Step 4Each person gets their answers
Kiko searches only the categories the person's role may read, so restricted knowledge never reaches the wrong person.

On Growth and up, after a 14-day free trial. See pricing

Who sees which knowledge

By role

Category	Everyone	Staff
Returns and delivery
Prices
Staff handbook	–
Supplier terms	–

Signed in as Maya · Staff

What's the staff discount?

20% on full-price items.From the Staff handbook

Who counts as who

Everyone
Anyone not signed in: website visitors and every customer on WhatsApp, Telegram and calls.
Your roles
Staff who sign in on the chat page with a login from Team; their role is set there, never by what they type.
An internal helpdesk
Set “Who can chat” to signed-in people only, and the agent answers only your staff.
Testing a role
In the Playground, the owner can chat as any of the agent's roles to check what each one sees.
Learn more

Keeping it safe

Untagged means unused
While access is by role, a source with no category isn't used for anyone, so nothing slips through by accident.
Only the owner changes access
Team members can see the grid, but only the account owner can change who sees which knowledge.
Roles come from sign-in
A role is read from the person's verified sign-in, never from the message, so typing “I'm a manager” changes nothing.
Open, when you don't need it
Access starts open: everyone is answered from all knowledge until you choose “By role”.

What you can set

In Settings › Access, Knowledge and Team, for each agent.

Knowledge access by role settings
Setting	What it does
Knowledge access	Open (everyone gets all knowledge) or By role.
Knowledge categories	Add, rename or remove; tag sources with them in Knowledge.
Roles	Add, rename or remove; assign people to them in Team.
Who sees which knowledge	A tick for each category under Everyone and each role.
Chat access	In Team: a person signs in to ask staff-only questions; Team member, Chat access, or both.
Who can chat	Anyone, or signed-in people only for an internal helpdesk (Settings › General).

Good to know

Customers are always “Everyone”
On WhatsApp, Telegram and calls nobody signs in, so everyone there gets the Everyone answers, including your staff.
Staff sign in on the chat page
Role-based answers come on your agent's full chat page after signing in, not in the website bubble.
Chat logins are per plan
Each plan includes a number of chat logins; a deactivated login still holds its place.
A login is not a team seat
Someone with chat access only can ask questions but can't open the dashboard; “Both” uses one of each.

FAQ

Questions about knowledge access by role

Straight answers before you set it up.

Still have a question?Ask Kiko. It's a HeyKiko agent trained on everything here.

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Yes. Tag your knowledge by category and tick which roles may read each. Customers get answers only from what Everyone may read; staff who sign in get their role's knowledge too.

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