# One AI agent, with different knowledge for customers and staff

> One AI agent for customers and staff: customers get public answers, and staff who sign in get answers from internal knowledge only their role may see.

Canonical: https://heykiko.io/features/knowledge-access
Last updated: 2026-11-05

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.

## How access works

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

Included on Growth and up, after a 14-day free trial.

## 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.

## 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.

| 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.

## Questions about knowledge access by role

### Can one chatbot give different answers to customers and staff?

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.

### 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.

## Related

- [Train on your website and files](https://heykiko.io/features/train-on-your-website)
- [Test and tune your agent](https://heykiko.io/features/test-your-agent)
- [Security and data](https://heykiko.io/security)
- [Education](https://heykiko.io/solutions/education)
- [Pricing](https://heykiko.io/pricing)
- [Human hand-off](https://heykiko.io/features/human-handoff)
- [Appointment booking](https://heykiko.io/features/appointment-booking)
- [Shared inbox](https://heykiko.io/features/shared-inbox)
- [Lead capture](https://heykiko.io/features/lead-capture)
- [Live answers from your database](https://heykiko.io/features/database-answers)
- [Product recommendations](https://heykiko.io/features/product-answers)
- [Cases and approvals](https://heykiko.io/features/cases-and-approvals)
- [Ask Kiko](https://heykiko.io/features/ask-kiko)
- [Privacy controls](https://heykiko.io/features/privacy-controls)