What is the role of Expert in Instant Answers

1. Overview

In Instant Answers, an Expert is the assigned channel owner responsible for managing unanswered questions. This role allows a designated person to review questions escalated by users, respond to them, and build the channel’s knowledge base over time.

2. When to Use

• When users ask questions in Instant Answers but do not receive an automatic response

• When a channel requires a responsible owner to manage and resolve incoming questions

• When administrators want answers to be reviewed and controlled before being added to the knowledge base

3. Concepts

Channel Expert
The Channel Expert is the user selected while creating an Instant Answers channel. The Expert handles unanswered questions when users do not receive an instant answer.

Channel Manager
Once assigned, the Expert works as the channel manager and manages questions from the admin page.

Unanswered Questions
These are questions asked by users that do not have an existing answer in the system or knowledge base.

Question Escalation
When a user does not get an answer, they are shown an option to submit the question to the expert. Selecting this option sends the question to the channel manager.

Knowledge Base
When the channel expert answers a question, that answer is stored in the knowledge base. The system uses this stored answer to respond automatically if the same question is asked again.

4. Set Up Guide

1. Open the channel creation flow in Instant Answers.
   
   https://help.bsharpcorp.com/books/instant-answers/page/how-to-set-up-instant-answers
   
   

2. Assign a user as the channel expert while creating the channel.
   
   
   
   

3. Save the channel configuration with the selected expert.

5. User View

When a user does not receive an answer in Instant Answers, they see an option to submit the question to an expert. After submitting, the user does not need to take any further action and waits for the expert’s response.

6. Best Practices

• Assign a subject-matter expert who can regularly review incoming questions.

• Ensure the expert understands that answered questions are stored in the knowledge base.

7. Related Links / FAQs

Q: What happens after an expert answers a question?
A: The answered question is recorded in the knowledge base and reused when the same question is asked again.

8. Version Notes

Last Updated: 16 Dec 2025