Part 4: Knowledge Bases & Collaborators¶

Outcome: The customer-support agent answers approved FAQs and delegates exceptions to escalation_agent.

This part builds on the agent and tools from Part 3.

What we will implement¶

You will create an FAQ knowledge base, attach it to the customer-support agent, and add an escalation collaborator for exceptions that need another agent.

A knowledge base is a collection of approved documents that the agent retrieves to ground answers. A collaborator is another agent that handles a defined class of requests delegated by the main agent.

1. Add the FAQ knowledge base¶

Download the workshop customer-support-faq.txt, then move it from your Downloads folder into knowledge-bases/. Run this in the Bob IDE terminal, from your bobchestrate-ws folder:

Windows PowerShellmacOS

Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\customer-support-faq.txt" `
  knowledge-bases\ -Force

mv ~/Downloads/customer-support-faq.txt knowledge-bases/

If knowledge-bases/ does not exist

Open workspace_config.yaml and check the folder listed under knowledge_bases:. Use that folder name in the commands on this page. If the folder is missing entirely, create it with mkdir knowledge-bases.

Then ask Bob:

Inspect knowledge-bases/customer-support-faq.txt. Create
knowledge-bases/faq-knowledge-base.yaml for a knowledge base named
customer_support_faq using the project rules and ADK 2.14.0 documentation.
Keep the document path relative to the YAML. Validate the file, import it into
the active draft environment, and monitor its status until it is ready. Show me
the commands and results.

The tested YAML is available as faq-knowledge-base.yaml (save it into knowledge-bases/ as well). Review Bob's generated file against it rather than copying blindly.

Manual import fallback:

orchestrate knowledge-bases import \
  -f knowledge-bases/faq-knowledge-base.yaml

orchestrate knowledge-bases status -n customer_support_faq

Wait until indexing completes before testing.

2. Attach the knowledge base¶

Ask Bob:

Update agents/customer-support-agent.yaml to use customer_support_faq for
shipping, returns, payment, and account questions. Tell the agent to say when
the knowledge base does not contain an answer. Show me the YAML change,
validate it, re-import the agent, and suggest three prompts that distinguish a
grounded answer, an unknown answer, and a tool request.

Manual fallback: add customer_support_faq under knowledge_base:, update the instructions, then run:

orchestrate agents import -f agents/customer-support-agent.yaml
orchestrate chat ask --agent-name customer_support_agent

Try What is your return policy?. The answer should be grounded in the FAQ rather than invented.

3. Add an escalation collaborator¶

Ask Bob:

Create agents/escalation-agent.yaml for a native agent named escalation_agent.
It handles refunds above the main agent's limit, policy exceptions, serious
complaints, and requests for a manager. Reuse the two customer-support tools and
customer_support_faq knowledge base. Validate and import it. Then update
agents/customer-support-agent.yaml to use it as a collaborator for those exact
cases, validate and re-import the main agent, and verify both agents are listed.

The tested files are escalation-agent.yaml and customer-support-agent.yaml.

Manual import fallback:

orchestrate agents import -f agents/escalation-agent.yaml
orchestrate agents import -f agents/customer-support-agent.yaml

4. Test the complete flow¶

Ask Bob:

Show me examples of questions I can ask customer_support_agent to test its
tools, knowledge base, FAQ answers, escalation path, and routing.

Manual fallback: run orchestrate chat ask --agent-name customer_support_agent, then test one prompt from each path:

Path	Prompt
Tool	`What is the status of order ORD-12345?`
Knowledge	`How long do refunds normally take?`
Collaborator	`I need a $15,000 refund and want to speak with a manager.`

The third prompt should delegate to escalation_agent.

Stuck?

Copy the tested files for this part from the reference solution and import them, then continue.

Checkpoint¶

The knowledge base finishes indexing
FAQ answers are grounded in the supplied document
escalation_agent imports successfully
The main agent delegates only the documented exception cases

Troubleshooting¶

The agent cannot find FAQ content

Check knowledge-base status, document path, and the exact knowledge-base name under knowledge_base:.

Delegation does not happen

Confirm that escalation_agent exists, is listed under collaborators:, and has a clear description. State the delegation conditions explicitly in the main agent's instructions.

Continue to Part 5: Guidelines & Guardrails →