# Direct Response

> Write a canonical answer to a specific question and let the agent serve it verbatim. The fastest way to fix a wrong answer or add new content.

import Screenshot from "../../../components/docs/Screenshot.astro";

Sometimes the right answer to a question doesn't exist anywhere yet — it's tribal knowledge, or it's a policy decision someone just made. Direct Response is the fastest way to teach the agent without first writing a help-center article.

## Add a Direct Response

In a folder, click **Add source → Direct Response**. The form has two fields:

- **Question** — phrased the way a real visitor would ask. Don't worry about every phrasing; embeddings handle paraphrase.
- **Answer** — the canonical response, in the agent's voice.

<Screenshot src="/screenshots/direct-response-add.webp" alt="Add Direct Response dialog with trigger phrases and a response editor." label="Console · Add Direct Response" description="A two-field form with a question above an answer, plus an optional 'related questions' field for paraphrases." />

## When to use Direct Response vs. a website or file

- **Direct Response** — short, opinionated, doesn't need a long-form home. "How do I cancel my account?" → 3-sentence answer.
- **Website page or file** — content that has multiple sections, screenshots, or examples. The agent answers better when surrounding context is available.

A common pattern: write a Direct Response first to fix the agent today, then promote it to a help-center article later when it's been stable for a while.

## Editing later

Direct Responses are editable in place — no re-ingest required, the change is live within seconds. This is the fastest feedback loop in the knowledge base.

## Next steps

- **[Citations & re-training](/docs/knowledge-base/citations)** — confirm the agent prefers your Direct Response over older content.
- **[Tone and fallbacks](/docs/agents/tone-and-fallbacks)** — if the agent isn't picking up tone from your Direct Response, the fix is usually in the persona.

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Source: https://owlish.bot/docs/knowledge-base/direct-response