Smart Import

Already have help articles, documents, or support emails? Smart Import is the fast way to get them into your knowledge base. You point it at a source, and the AI reads your content, cleans up the formatting, merges duplicates, and files it away - ready for your agent to use.

How It Works

Every import follows the same three steps:

1. You pick a source - upload files, or connect Google Drive, Notion, a website, or your email.
2. The AI processes it - reading, cleaning, and organizing each item in the background.
3. It lands in your knowledge base - ready for your agent to search.

Import from Files

Uploading files is the simplest way to start. It accepts PDF, Word, Excel, HTML, CSV, Markdown, text, ZIP archives, and code files.

Import from Other Sources

The other sources work the same way - select the source on the Smart Import page, connect it, and click Generate KB Files:

• Google Drive - connect your account (read-only - DeskClone never changes your files) and pick a folder. Everything in it, including subfolders, is imported. Google Docs and Sheets are converted automatically.
• Notion - connect with an integration token, then choose pages or your whole workspace.
• Website - paste a URL. The crawler reads that page and follows its navigation to pull in related pages too - great for importing an existing help center.
• Email history - choose a connected Gmail account and a date range. The AI distills each thread into a clean article (summary, key details, people, and resolution) and drops the reply-chain noise. This is different from email monitoring, which creates tickets from new mail.

Requesting a Source We Don't Support Yet

Some sources in the left-hand list - Intercom today - aren't built yet. Selecting one shows a card that says so plainly, along with a Request [name] integration button. Clicking it tells us you want it; we use these requests to decide what to build next. It does not start an import - there's nothing to import until we build the connection.

What It Counts Toward

Smart Import is not charged per import. DeskClone bills on monthly conversations, not on imports. Each plan instead includes a monthly file allowance - 50 files on Free, 300 on Starter, 1,000 on Pro, and unlimited on Business - and every file you import counts toward it. So bring in as much content as your plan's allowance allows; importing more never adds to your bill.

Watching Progress

After you start an import, the Jobs tab shows each job move through pending → extracting → synthesizing → done, with a per-file view of progress. Large imports take a few minutes; you can leave the page and come back - it keeps running in the background.

When a job finishes, the content is added to your knowledge base automatically. The Sources tab shows which original files built each article, so you always know where an answer came from.

Keeping Website Knowledge Up to Date (Sync)

Once you've imported a website, it appears under Your knowledge sources at the top of the Jobs tab, with how many pages it covers and when it was last synced. Click Sync now to re-read the site and update anything that changed - your agent's answers stay current with your latest pages.

Sync is built to be safe and cheap:

• Only changed pages update. Pages that haven't changed are skipped entirely - they don't count toward your file allowance, so re-syncing an unchanged site costs you nothing.
• Your organization is preserved. Files you've renamed, moved, or made internal keep those choices. A file you've edited yourself is never overwritten by a sync - your version wins, and the card tells you so.
• Removals are careful. A page that's genuinely gone from your site is archived (recoverable), but never when the site was only partially reachable - a bad day on your website can't wreck your knowledge base.
• Big changes wait for you. If a sync finds sweeping changes (say, after a site redesign), it's held with a Waiting for your review badge instead of applying automatically. Open the job, look it over, and choose Apply changes or Discard update.

Each source can be synced once per hour. If your knowledge hasn't been synced in a while, the dashboard's Knowledge card reminds you with a one-click Sync now.

Automatic Updates

You don't have to remember to sync. On the source card, click Turn on automatic updates - we'll check your website monthly and update it when things change. If we find big changes, we'll ask you first. Change this anytime.

What to expect:

• The first check emails you a receipt - even when nothing changed ("everything is already up to date"), so you know it's working.
• Big changes wait for your review. The source card shows Automatic updates waiting on your review, you get one email with a link to the review screen, and your agent keeps answering from your previous content until you decide. Automatic checks pause while a review is waiting and resume when you apply or discard it.
• Silence means all is well. Successful checks don't email you - your weekly summary carries one line ("Your website knowledge: checked this month, 2 pages updated") instead.
• If your site is unreachable for two weeks, automatic updates pause and you get one email saying why and what to do. Your knowledge is unchanged; turn them back on from the source card when the site is healthy.
• Only changed pages count toward your monthly Smart Import allowance - a check of an unchanged site costs nothing.

Automatic updates come with Starter and above.

What's Next

With your knowledge base filling up, you can teach your agent to take actions too - head to Tools and Integrations. Or, if you just want to go live, jump to Embed Widget.