Writing Effective Help Articles

ArticlesUpdated March 26th, 2026

Best Practices for Help Articles

Well-written articles reduce support volume by helping customers find answers on their own. They also improve the quality of AI chatbot responses.

Article Structure

A good article typically follows this structure:

  1. Brief introduction: Explain what the article covers and who it's for
  2. Step-by-step instructions: Use numbered lists for processes
  3. Tips or best practices: Share additional context
  4. Related information: Link to other relevant articles

Writing Tips

  • Clear titles: Use titles that match what customers search for (e.g., "How to Reset Your Password" instead of "Password Management")
  • Short paragraphs: Break up text for easy scanning
  • Headings: Use ## and ### headings to create sections
  • Lists: Use bullet points and numbered lists for steps
  • Code blocks: Use fenced code blocks for technical content

Markdown Formatting

Articles support full Markdown syntax:

  • Bold with **text**
  • Italic with *text*
  • Code blocks with triple backticks
  • Links with [text](url)
  • Images with ![alt](url)
  • Tables, blockquotes, and more

Visibility

  • Public articles are visible to customers in the help center and used by the AI chatbot
  • Internal articles are only visible to agents in the dashboard. Use them for internal processes, runbooks, and team documentation