Recipe: answer customer questions from your own FAQ¶
Write down your opening hours, delivery area, allergens and return policy once, give the file to Hermes, and let it answer customer questions from it. With one clear rule, Hermes says "I don't know" when your file has no answer, instead of guessing.
| Time needed | 10 minutes |
| You need | A Hermes agent connected to an AI model and a short text with your rules and policies |
| Result | Correct, friendly answers to customer questions, based only on your own information |
Check the answers before you rely on them
In our test Hermes added one small detail that was not in our file (see step 2). Use the rule in step 3, test with your own questions, and keep important topics such as allergens in your FAQ up to date.
1. Write your FAQ and upload it¶
Write a plain text file with the facts customers ask about. Short lines, one fact per line. This is the file we used for a fictional bakery, bakery-faq.txt:
SUNRISE BAKERY - CUSTOMER FAQ AND POLICIES
Opening hours
- Monday to Friday: 07:00 to 19:00
- Saturday: 08:00 to 13:00
- Closed on Sundays and public holidays.
Orders and delivery
- We deliver only to Povoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde.
- Delivery is free for orders of 25 EUR or more. Below 25 EUR the delivery fee is 3.50 EUR.
- Orders placed before 18:00 are delivered the next working day, between 08:00 and 11:00.
- We do not deliver to other towns.
Allergens
- All our breads and pastries contain gluten (wheat flour).
- Custard tarts (pasteis de nata) contain egg and milk.
- Our kitchen also uses nuts (almonds and walnuts). We cannot guarantee that any product is free of nuts.
- We do not make vegan cakes at the moment.
Returns and complaints
- If a product arrives damaged or the order is wrong, tell us within 24 hours with a photo. We replace it or refund it.
- Because our products are fresh, we do not accept returns for any other reason.
Payment
- Cash, card and MB WAY in the shop. Delivery orders are paid by MB WAY or bank transfer.
In the dashboard, open FILES → workspace, click UPLOAD and choose the file (as in Hermes reads a contract for you). It appears in the list:
2. Ask a few customer questions¶
Open CHAT and test with real questions. Include one that your file does not answer. We asked:
Read workspace/bakery-faq.txt. Customers of my bakery ask: 1) Do you deliver to Vila do Conde, and what does delivery cost for a 20 euro order? 2) My son is allergic to nuts: are your custard tarts safe for him? 3) Are you open on Sunday morning? 4) Do you have parking for customers? Answer each one for the customer.
- Your questions. Hermes read the file (Read File("bakery-faq.txt")) and answered in about 30 seconds.
- The first three answers are correct: delivery to Vila do Conde costs 3.50 euros for a 20 euro order (free from 25 euros); the tarts cannot be called safe because the kitchen uses nuts; the shop is closed on Sundays.
- Parking is not in the file, and Hermes said so: We don't have information about parking. Please contact the shop directly to ask.
One detail was not in our file: in answer 2 Hermes wrote that the tarts have no nuts in the recipe. Our file only says they contain egg and milk. The advice was still safe, but it is an example of why you need a rule.
3. Add the rule: only what the file says¶
Tell Hermes exactly how to behave when the file has no answer:
Rule for customer answers: say only what the file says. Do not add any detail that is not in the file. If the file does not answer, say you do not know and that they should call the shop.
- The rule, plus question 2 again and a new question the file does not cover.
- The allergy answer now says only what the file says: egg and milk, and no guarantee about nuts.
- For birthday cakes with a name, which our file does not mention: I don't know. Please call the shop to ask.
4. Make it a skill¶
Typing the rule every time is easy to forget. Turn it into a skill, so Hermes always answers customers this way. In the chat, for example:
Create a skill called "bakery-customer-answers": when someone asks a customer question about the bakery, read workspace/bakery-faq.txt and answer short and friendly, using only what the file says. If the file does not answer, say you do not know and that they should call the shop.
Hermes created the skill and confirmed its rules (it now also appears on the SKILLS page). To test it, we started a New chat (so Hermes did not remember the conversation above) and wrote only:
Customer asks: Can I pay my delivery order with PayPal? And do you have a toilet for customers?
- Hermes opened the skill by itself (Skill View("bakery-customer-answers")) and then read the FAQ file.
- Both answers follow the rule: delivery orders are paid by MB WAY or bank transfer (PayPal is not listed), and for the toilet: I don't know. Please call the shop to ask.
When your policies change, edit the file (download it from FILES, change it, upload it again). The skill reads the file each time, so it uses the new version.
Check that it worked¶
- Ask 3 or 4 questions whose answers you know, and compare.
- Ask at least one question that is not in your file. Hermes should say it does not know. In our test, with the rule, it did.
Make it yours¶
- Answer in the customer's language: "Answer in the language of the question."
- Draft replies for messages you receive: paste a customer email and ask "Write a reply using only bakery-faq.txt."
- Add more topics to the file: prices, gift cards, catering, holidays.
About letting customers talk to Hermes directly
In this recipe you ask Hermes and send the answer yourself. If you connect Hermes to a channel your customers use, anyone you approve can talk to it and use your AI credit. Read Choose who can talk to your Hermes agent first.
Common problems¶
Hermes invents an answer that is not in my file
Repeat the rule from step 3 (or put it in the skill). Then check that your file really does not contain the topic in other words.
Hermes says it cannot find the file
Check the name and the folder in FILES. Write the path the way it appears there, starting with workspace/.
The answer is out of date
Hermes uses the file as it is now. Update the file in FILES and ask again.