> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aiplaybooklac.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Build Your AI Knowledge Base for Your Business > Create the document that gives AI everything it needs to know about your specific business — turning generic AI advice into advice built for your situation. Every business has a Knowledge Base, whether the owner realises it or not. It lives in your head, scattered across memory, instinct, and experience. The problem is that AI cannot read your mind. Your Knowledge Base takes everything you know about your business and puts it in a format the AI can actually use — a single plain text document that you write once, update as things change, and paste into any AI conversation alongside your Context Prompt. ## What Is a Knowledge Base? Your Knowledge Base is a document that captures everything an AI needs to know about *your specific business* before you ask it anything. Two businesses in the same city, same industry, and same size can get completely different — and completely right — AI advice if they each have a good Knowledge Base. Without it, the AI gives you generic answers. With it, the AI gives you answers built for your situation. **You write it once. You paste it (or attach it) alongside your [Context Prompt](/guide/context-prompt) at the start of every AI conversation. You update it when things change.** *** ## How the Context Prompt + Knowledge Base Stack Works Think of it as two layers of context that you give the AI before asking it anything. ```text theme={null} Layer 1: Context Prompt → AI understands your region, market, currency, culture Layer 2: Knowledge Base → AI understands your specific business, people, goals, constraints Layer 3: Your Prompt → You ask your actual question ``` Here is exactly how to use all three together: Go to claude.ai, chatgpt.com, or gemini.google.com and start a new conversation. This sets the regional reality — your country, currency, infrastructure, customer habits, and regulatory environment. This sets your business reality — who you are, what you sell, your customers, your constraints, your goals. The AI now has two layers of context. The difference in output quality compared to a context-free question is significant — it is a different conversation entirely. Edit before sending to customers or submitting anywhere. Always verify facts, numbers, and regulations independently. Two bakeries in Kingston can use the same Context Prompt. But one is a home-based operation selling to neighbours via WhatsApp with zero employees and a dream of opening a storefront. The other has a shop in a plaza, four staff, a catering contract with a hotel, and is trying to figure out inventory management. The Context Prompt gets them both Caribbean-relevant answers. The Knowledge Base gets them answers built for *their* bakery, *their* problems, *their* next move. *** ## How to Create Your Knowledge Base Word, Google Docs, the Notes app on your phone — anything works. Name it: **My Business Knowledge Base — \[Your Business Name]**. Answer the questions the way you would talk to a smart advisor over coffee — honest, direct, and specific. The more specific you are, the better your AI outputs will be. You will paste this document frequently. Keep it in a place you can access quickly from your phone or computer. Attach the file or paste the full text immediately after your Context Prompt, before asking your question. *** ## The Knowledge Base Template Copy the template below. Fill in every section. Leave nothing blank — even rough estimates and honest admissions of weakness help the AI give you better answers. ```text theme={null} KNOWLEDGE BASE — [YOUR BUSINESS NAME] Last Updated: [Month, Year] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 1: THE BASICS ───────────────────────────────────── Business name: [Your business name] What I sell or provide: [Describe your product or service in 2–3 sentences] Location: [Country / City / Neighbourhood — include if neighbourhood matters for your business, e.g. "New Kingston, Jamaica" vs "rural St. Elizabeth, Jamaica"] How long I have been operating: [e.g. 6 months / 3 years / 12 years] Legal status: [e.g. sole trader / partnership / limited liability company (LLC) / registered with [local business registration body]] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 2: MY PEOPLE ───────────────────────────────────── Total people working in the business (including me): [number] Who does what: - Me (owner): [your main roles — e.g. I do everything: sales, delivery, accounts] - [Name or Role 1]: [what they do] - [Name or Role 2]: [what they do] - [Any contractors or part-time staff]: [describe] Skills we have in-house: [e.g. carpentry, bookkeeping, customer service, social media] Skills we are missing: [e.g. graphic design, web development, financial analysis, legal knowledge, marketing strategy] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 3: MY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ───────────────────────────────────── What exactly I offer: [List your main products or services. Be specific.] - [Product/Service 1]: [brief description, price range] - [Product/Service 2]: [brief description, price range] - [Product/Service 3]: [brief description, price range] How customers buy from me: [e.g. walk-in / WhatsApp orders / Instagram DMs / phone calls / website / referral only] What sells well: [your top 2–3 sellers] What does not sell / moves slowly: [honest answer] How I make the product or deliver the service: [Do you make it yourself? Source locally? Import? Subcontract? How does the delivery or fulfilment work?] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 4: MY CUSTOMERS ───────────────────────────────────── Who buys from me (be specific, not generic): [e.g. "Mainly women aged 30–55 from the middle-income neighbourhoods in [city] who want handmade gifts for occasions. They find me through Instagram and WhatsApp word of mouth."] Where they find me: [e.g. Instagram / word of mouth / foot traffic / Google / referrals from past clients] Why they choose me over competitors: [your honest answer — what do they say?] What they complain about: [be honest — this helps the AI solve real problems] How they pay: [e.g. cash / bank transfer / card machine / Linx / PayNow / PIX / Nequi / mobile money / mix of the above] Seasonal patterns in my customers: [e.g. "December is my busiest month — about 40% of my annual revenue. August is slowest."] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 5: MY MONEY ───────────────────────────────────── Monthly revenue (approximate range): [e.g. $50,000–$80,000 JMD / $5,000–$8,000 BBD] Note: You do not need exact figures. Ballpark is fine. My biggest expenses each month: - [Expense 1]: [amount or percentage of revenue] - [Expense 2]: [amount or percentage] - [Expense 3]: [amount or percentage] Am I profitable, breaking even, or still investing? [Honest answer: e.g. "Profitable but tightly — I pay myself about X per month." or "Breaking even right now — I expect profitability in 6 months."] How I am funded: [e.g. entirely from revenue / family loan / bank loan / government grant / savings / mix] What financial tools I use: [e.g. Excel spreadsheet / a notebook / QuickBooks / Wave Accounting / my accountant handles it / nothing formal yet] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 6: WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT ───────────────────────────────────── My competitive edge (the thing my regulars say about me): [e.g. "Fastest turnaround in town." / "Best price for quality." / "Only person in the area who does [specific service]." / "Clients trust me because I've been here 10 years and I know everyone."] What I do that competitors do not: [be specific — even small things count] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 7: WHERE I AM BEHIND ───────────────────────────────────── Where competitors are ahead of me: [e.g. "My main competitor has a website and takes online bookings. I don't." / "They have two delivery vehicles. I rely on renting." / "Their social media is much more active than mine."] What I am not good at (honest): [e.g. "I am not consistent with social media." / "My bookkeeping is a mess." / "I struggle with collections from slow-paying clients." / "I have no system for follow-up after a sale."] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 8: MY GOALS ───────────────────────────────────── Where I want to be in 6 months: [Be specific: e.g. "Add two new corporate catering clients by March." / "Open a second location." / "Launch an online store." / "Reduce my own working hours from 70 to 50 per week."] Where I want to be in 1 year: [Be specific] Where I want to be in 3 years: [e.g. grow / stabilise / export / franchise / bring in a partner / make enough to stop working weekends / hire a manager] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 9: MY CURRENT STRATEGY ───────────────────────────────────── What I am doing right now to reach those goals: [Describe your current approach to growth, marketing, operations improvement] What I have tried that worked: [Even one or two things — what moved the needle?] What I have tried that did not work: [Be honest — this saves the AI from suggesting the same failed approaches] What I am doing right now to bring in customers: [e.g. "Mostly word of mouth and Instagram. I post inconsistently. I've tried Facebook ads once — spent $50 USD and got nothing."] ───────────────────────────────────── SECTION 10: MY CONSTRAINTS ───────────────────────────────────── What is holding me back (be blunt): [e.g. "Cash flow is my biggest issue — I sometimes can't restock because clients pay 60 days late." / "I have no one to delegate to, so everything waits for me." / "My internet is unreliable and I can't afford reliable hosting for a website." / "I don't know how to do accounting and can't afford to hire someone yet." / "Import lead times mean I run out of stock at peak season."] My budget for new tools or investments right now: [e.g. "Nothing extra right now." / "About $50 USD/month." / "Up to $200 USD for a one-off setup."] Time I can realistically spend on new initiatives per week: [e.g. "Maybe 2 hours, on evenings." / "I have Saturdays free." / "Right now, nothing extra — I am at capacity."] ───────────────────────────────────── END OF KNOWLEDGE BASE ───────────────────────────────────── ``` *** ## Keeping Your Knowledge Base Alive A Knowledge Base that is six months out of date will give you six-month-old advice. Five minutes of updates every month keeps every AI conversation grounded in where your business actually is. Update your Knowledge Base when: You hire or lose a staff member, or a key person's role changes. You add or drop a product or service, or significantly change your pricing. Your revenue changes significantly — up or down — or your biggest expenses shift. You reach or change a goal, or something big happens in your market or industry. Your biggest constraint changes — for better or worse. You move, expand to a new area, or your primary customer base shifts. The Knowledge Base template is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Haitian Creole in the source files. Each version uses the same 10-section structure with language and currency references adapted for that market. *** ## Next Steps The Context Prompt and Knowledge Base work as a pair. If you haven't built your Context Prompt yet, start there. Once your stack is ready, use the 12 copy-and-paste prompts and the 7-day quick start plan.