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Knowledge Base documents in AI notes templates

Attach your own documents to an AI notes template so the notes follow your rubric and your terms.

Written by Silas Reinagel

Attach your own documents to an AI notes template, such as a leveling rubric, an interview guide or your company values. Every time the template runs, BrightHire's AI reads them alongside the interview, so the notes follow your rubric and your terms.

You do this in Template Studio, on the template's Definition tab. You can pick documents your team already keeps in the Knowledge Base, or upload a file for this template only.

Before you start

  • You need edit access to the template. You can edit templates you created. To edit someone else's template that's shared with your organization, you need permission to manage custom templates.

  • Documents can be added to templates that use written instructions. Templates made by BrightHire and section-based templates don't have a Documents section.

  • A new template has to be saved before you can add documents. Until then the section reads "Save this template to add documents."

Note. If you don't see a Documents section on the Definition tab, Knowledge Base may not be turned on for your organization. Contact your BrightHire team.

Open the Documents section

  1. Go to Settings, then AI notes templates.

  2. Click the template you want to change. It opens in Template Studio.

  3. Click the Definition tab at the top of the right-hand panel.

  4. Scroll below Instructions to the Documents section.

You can also open Template Studio from an interview's AI notes. Choose Manage templates... in the template picker.

The Documents section on the Definition tab, before any documents are added

Add documents from the Knowledge Base

  1. In the Documents section, click + Add document, then From Knowledge Base.

  2. The Add from Knowledge Base window lists your documents by folder. Type in Search to filter by name.

  3. Select each document the template needs. The button at the bottom updates to show how many you picked, for example Add 2.

  4. Click Add.

Picking two documents in the Add from Knowledge Base window

BrightHire attaches the documents right away. You don't need to click Save changes. Each attached document shows the folder it came from.

The picker labels some documents:

Label

What it means

Already attached

The document is already on this template.

Processing

BrightHire is still reading the file. You can attach it now, and the AI uses it once it's ready.

Processing failed

BrightHire couldn't read the file. Fix it in the Knowledge Base before attaching it.

Restricted

Not everyone in your organization can open this file in the Knowledge Base.

Important. Attaching a file shares it with the template. The AI uses every attached document whenever anyone's notes run with this template, even for people who can't open that file in the Knowledge Base. When you add a restricted file, BrightHire asks you to confirm with Add anyway.

Upload a file for this template only

Click + Add document, then From your computer, and choose one or more files. You can also drag files onto the Documents section.

The Add document menu

An uploaded file is labeled This workflow. Only this template uses it, and it doesn't appear in the Knowledge Base.

File type

Limit

PDF, DOCX, RTF, TXT, Markdown

10 MB

XLSX

10 MB, and no more than 10 MB once the spreadsheet is opened

Legacy Word files (.doc) aren't supported. Save them as DOCX or PDF first.

If a file you upload has the same contents as a document already in the Knowledge Base, BrightHire asks what to do:

  • Skip doesn't upload it.

  • Copy uploads it to this template under a new name.

  • Replace swaps in your file everywhere the existing document is used.

Share an uploaded file with other templates

If you can manage the Knowledge Base, an uploaded file shows Add to Knowledge Base. Click it, pick a folder, then click Add to followed by the folder name. The file stays on this template, and other templates can now pick it from that folder.

Adding an uploaded file to the Engineering Hiring folder

How the AI uses your documents

Every time the template runs, BrightHire gives the attached documents to the AI along with the interview transcript. That covers:

  • AI notes written with this template

  • The preview in Template Studio

  • Scorecard autofill that uses this template

The Template Studio assistant, which helps you write the instructions, doesn't read attached documents. To make sure the notes use a document, refer to it in your instructions, for example "Map the candidate's examples to the levels in the leveling rubric."

A template with two Knowledge Base documents and one uploaded file

When a document isn't used

The preview tells you when an attached document wasn't used, and why:

Message in the preview

What to do

Still processing

Wait for the file to finish, then click Update preview.

Couldn't be loaded

Remove the file and add it again.

Over the size limit for one run

The template's documents are too long to use together. Remove documents the template doesn't need, or split long files and attach only the relevant parts.

Excluded from indexing in the Knowledge Base, so notes don't use it

Ask a Knowledge Base admin to check the file.

In the Documents list, a file BrightHire couldn't read shows Could not read. Upload a corrected copy. Scanned PDFs without selectable text are a common cause.

Remove a document

Click the × next to the document, then Remove.

  • Removing a Knowledge Base document only takes it off this template. It stays in the Knowledge Base.

  • Removing an uploaded file deletes it, unless another template also uses it.

Who sees the documents

People who can use a template but can't edit it see its documents as a read-only list. They only see Knowledge Base files they're allowed to open, plus any files uploaded to the template. The AI still uses every attached document for them.

Watch: add documents to a template (1 min)

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