Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1

When I ask Sideconvo for something it answer with something else. How do I fix this?

Accepted Answer

Understanding how Sideconvo works is the first step to answering this question. Sideconvo indexes all your website URLs and any additional knowledge you upload and stores it in a vector database. Additionally, your site description and special instructions are used as foundational instructions. When you have a conversation with Sideconvo, the answer is constructed exclusively from this knowledge, your site description and any special instructions you provide. Experiment in the Playground with conversations and observe the related links that are presented with the Sideconvo response. If you do not find what you expect: Go to Sitemap & URLs and confirm your content is in Active state. You can use the search filter to find the page by URL or page title. If it is found, click on it and review the content preview. Did it capture what you published on the page? Does the page have what you were looking for? If there was an error crawling the page or if you made an update to your website page, you can always manually recrawl the page to ingest the information again. If it is not found, add the URL manually by tapping on the New URL button on Sitemap & URLs and Sideconvo will visit the page and ingest its content. Responses will immediately be reflected after the page is crawled. Confirm the result is to your liking by trying the conversation again in the Playground in a new session. If the above does not work for you, the problem could be that other content is ranking higher in the results. If you think this is the case, consider the content on that page: Is the content secondary or not important to the experience you want to provide? If yes, you can exclude it from Sitemap & URLs. If your site is a store, consider excluding category and tag pages if your product pages are individually indexed. Is the content on that page 'richer' or better structured than the content on the page you expect? Consider improving your website pages by better structuring your content across the two pages. Responses will immediately be reflected after the page is crawled. Confirm the result is to your liking by trying the conversation again in the Playground in a new session. Finally, the process for Knowledge & PDFs is mostly the same.

Question 2

Why didn’t Sideconvo discover all the pages on my website?

Accepted Answer

The most reliable way to ensure 100% coverage of your website is to have a valid sitemap.xml accessible. Without a sitemap acting as a roadmap, our crawler discovers content by simply following links starting from your homepage, which may not reach every page on larger or complex websites. If adding a sitemap isn't possible, you can also use our "Bulk Add" feature to manually upload a list of specific URLs you want the system to learn from.

Question 3

How do I permanently delete a file?

Accepted Answer

You can delete a file by hovering over it in the list and clicking the Delete icon (trash can) or by opening its Details View and clicking the Delete icon in the header.

Question 4

What happens if I “Exclude” a file?

Accepted Answer

Excluding a file removes it from the assistant's active knowledge base, so its content won't be used in answers. The file is not deleted and can be "Re-included" later.

Question 5

What’s the difference between “Rename,” “Edit,” and “Update”?

Accepted Answer

Rename: This changes the "friendly title" of the file to make it easier to find in your list. It doesn't change the file's content. Edit: This allows you to manually change the extracted markdown content that the assistant uses. This is for fine-tuning or correcting extraction errors. Update: This replaces the entire file with a new version (e.g., replacing v1 of a document with v2).

Question 6

How do I see the content the assistant is using from my file?

Accepted Answer

Simply click the file name in the list. A panel will open on the right showing a preview of the file's content as markdown. This extracted markdown is the exact information the assistant uses.

Question 7

What does it mean if my file has an “Error” or “Warning” status?

Accepted Answer

Error: The system could not process your file. The error message (e.g., "file is password protected") will tell you what to fix before you re-upload it. Warning: The system found a potential issue (e.g., "might contain harmful content"), but the file may still be usable.

Question 8

What’s the difference between “Show All Active” and “Show All Files”?

Accepted Answer

Show All Active: Displays all files that are currently being used by your assistant as a knowledge source. Show All Files: Displays every file you have ever uploaded, including those that are "Active" and those you have "Excluded."

Question 9

How do I add new files to the knowledge base?

Accepted Answer

You can either click the + Add File button to select files from your computer, or you can drag and drop files directly onto the file list area at any time.

Question 10

What file types can I upload?

Accepted Answer

The system accepts common file types, including PDF, PPTX, DOCX, CSV, and TXT.

Question 11

What is the main purpose of the “PDFs & Knowledge” screen?

Accepted Answer

This screen is your central repository for non-website content. You can upload files like PDFs, presentations, and text files to give your assistant a deeper knowledge base beyond your public website pages.

Question 12

What should I do about a “Failed Link”?

Accepted Answer

First, try opening the link in a new tab to see if it works. If it does, you can use the "Recrawl" function to try again. If the link is permanently broken, you can "Delete" it to remove it from the list.

Question 13

What are “Failed Links”?

Accepted Answer

These are URLs that the system tried to crawl but could not access. This is often due to the page being temporarily down, a broken link (404 error), or a server issue. The reason for the failure is usually displayed with the link.

Question 14

What’s the practical difference between Excluding and Deleting a URL?

Accepted Answer

Excluding a URL is like archiving it; it's removed from the knowledge base but can be brought back later. Deleting a URL (from "My Links" or "Failed Links") is a permanent removal from the system.

Question 15

Why can’t I delete a URL from the “Discovered Links” filter?

Accepted Answer

You only have direct delete permissions over URLs you have explicitly curated. To delete a discovered link, you must first "Save to My Links", and then you can delete it from there.

Question 16

If I manually edit a URL’s content, will my changes be overwritten by a recrawl?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Recrawling a page will always replace any manual edits with the fresh content from the live web page.

Question 17

A page on my website has been updated. How do I update it here?

Accepted Answer

You need to trigger a "Recrawl". Find the URL in the list and click the circular arrow icon. This tells the system to visit the page again and fetch the latest content.

Question 18

What happens when I “Exclude” a link?

Accepted Answer

Excluding a link removes it from your Sideconvo’s active knowledge base, meaning its content won't be used to answer questions. However, the system still remembers the URL, and you can see it by selecting the "Excluded Links" filter.

Question 19

Why can’t I find a specific URL when I use the search bar?

Accepted Answer

The search function is tied to your current filter. If you're searching for a URL that's in "Discovered Links" but you have the "My Links" filter active, it won't appear. Try clearing the filter to "Show All Active" and search again.

Question 20

What is the difference between “My Links” and “Discovered Links”?

Accepted Answer

"Discovered Links" are pages found automatically by the system. "My Links" is a curated list that you manage directly. Saving a URL to "My Links" gives you more control, such as the ability to delete it. All URLs you add are in ‘My Links’.

Question 21

Why can’t I view the details of a URL while it’s being crawled?

Accepted Answer

The Details View is disabled during the crawling process because the content is actively being updated. The view will become available as soon as the crawl is successful and complete.

Question 22

What does it mean to “crawl” a URL?

Accepted Answer

Crawling is the process where the system visits a web page, reads its content, and formats it into a structured document (markdown) that Sideconvo can use.

Question 23

Can I add more than one URL at a time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In the "+ New URL" screen, you can paste a list of URLs. Just make sure each URL is on a new line.

Question 24

How do I add a new URL to my knowledge base?

Accepted Answer

Click the "+ New URL" button, paste the full URL (or a list of URLs), and click "Add URLs". The system will then crawl the page to extract its content.

Question 25

How does the system get its initial list of URLs?

Accepted Answer

The system automatically discovers pages by crawling your website's sitemaps. These initial pages appear under the "Discovered Links" filter.

Question 26

What is the main purpose of the “Sitemap & URLs” screen?

Accepted Answer

This screen is the control center for all the web page content your assistant uses to answer questions. You can add new pages, update existing ones, and manage the overall knowledge base.

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