What is stale knowledge?
Stale knowledge is an answer based on a document, memory, or index that no longer matches the business. The model may be working exactly as designed. The file is old. A knowledge cutoff is the model's training horizon. Stale knowledge is your copy.
Also called: reindexing
In plain English
You changed the repair price in the estimate software and forgot the PDF in the bot's folder. The bot quotes the PDF. Refreshing or reindexing means telling the search tool to drop the old file and read the new one. Until that happens, the old answer is still available. Stale is worse than missing because it looks official. The old coupon, the old hours, the technician who left. Date the pages that change. When a fact changes, change the page before you announce it, or the assistant will keep the old announcement alive. Search for the old price on purpose after an update. If it still comes back, you have a second copy hiding. Search the old phone number after you change it. If the assistant still recites it, a second copy is hiding in a PDF or a pinned note. Delete the copy, do not just edit the new page. Hunt the retired coupon code in signatures and in the fridge-magnet photo on the site. Scrub the yard sign photo and the signature block once that coupon expires.
How an owner would use it
When a rule changes, change the official page the same day and remove the previous file from the assistant. Ask the old question on purpose. If the old price returns, the index still has it.
Common mistakes
Uploading a new file beside the old one gives the bot two truths. Memory of 'our price is...' will outlive the PDF you deleted. Do not reindex by uploading duplicates with 'FINAL v7' in the name. One current page, one place.
A worked example
A roofing company
Last year's repair menu is removed
This is an illustration, not a customer result. A leak repair price went up. The owner replaces the one-page menu in the knowledge folder and deletes the previous file. They ask the assistant for the repair price. The first try still cites the old file. They remove it from the index and ask again before anyone uses the number.
Related terms
Prompts and guides
Questions owners ask
What is stale knowledge?
It is an AI answer drawn from your outdated file, memory, or search index after the business has changed.
How do I refresh an assistant after a price change?
Update the source of truth, remove the old file from the tool, reindex if the product requires it, and ask the old question before you trust the new answer.
What is reindexing?
Reindexing rebuilds the search index from the current files. It does not edit the files. If the old file is still in the folder, reindexing keeps it.
Product guides are on AI apps for business.