Identify what type of research is needed:

Customer question: Something a customer has asked that needs an answer (e.g., "Does our product support SSO with Okta?")
Issue investigation: Background on a reported problem (e.g., "Has this bug been reported before? What's the known workaround?")
Account context: History with a specific customer (e.g., "What did we tell Acme Corp last time they asked about this?")
Topic research: General topic relevant to support work (e.g., "Best practices for webhook retry logic")

Before searching, clarify what you're actually trying to find:

Is this a factual question with a definitive answer?
Is this a contextual question requiring multiple perspectives?
Is this an exploratory question where the scope is still being defined?
Who is the audience for the answer (internal team, customer, leadership)?

2. Search Available Sources

Search systematically through the source tiers below, adapting to what is connected. Don't stop at the first result — cross-reference across sources.

Tier 1 — Official Internal Sources (highest confidence):

~~knowledge base (if connected): product docs, runbooks, FAQs, policy documents
~~cloud storage: internal documents, specs, guides, past research
Product roadmap (internal-facing): feature timelines, priorities

Tier 2 — Organizational Context:

~~CRM notes: account notes, activity history, previous answers, opportunity details
~~support platform (if connected): previous resolutions, known issues, workarounds
Meeting notes: previous discussions, decisions, commitments

Tier 3 — Team Communications:

~~chat: search for the topic in relevant channels; check if teammates have discussed or answered this before
~~email: search for previous correspondence on this topic
Calendar notes: meeting agendas and post-meeting notes

Tier 4 — External Sources:

Web search: official documentation, blog posts, community forums
Public knowledge bases, help centers, release notes
Third-party documentation: integration partners, complementary tools

Tier 5 — Inferred or Analogical (use when direct sources don't yield answers):

Similar situations: how similar questions were handled before
Analogous customers: what worked for comparable accounts
General best practices: industry standards and norms

3. Synthesize Findings

Compile results into a structured research brief:

## Research: [Question/Topic]

### Answer
[Clear, direct answer to the question — lead with the bottom line]

**Confidence:** [High / Medium / Low]
[Explain what drives the confidence level]

### Key Findings

**From [Source 1]:**
- [Finding with specific detail]
- [Finding with specific detail]

**From [Source 2]:**
- [Finding with specific detail]

### Context & Nuance
[Any caveats, edge cases, or additional context that matters]

### Sources
1. [Source name/link] — [what it contributed]
2. [Source name/link] — [what it contributed]
3. [Source name/link] — [what it contributed]

### Gaps & Unknowns
- [What couldn't be confirmed]
- [What might need verification from a subject matter expert]

### Recommended Next Steps
- [Action if the answer needs to go to a customer]
- [Action if further research is needed]
- [Who to consult for verification if needed]

4. Handle Insufficient Sources

If no connected sources yield results:

Perform web research on the topic
Ask the user for internal context:
- "I couldn't find this in connected sources. Do you have internal docs or knowledge base articles about this?"
- "Has your team discussed this topic before? Any ~~chat channels I should check?"
- "Is there a subject matter expert who would know the answer?"
Be transparent about limitations:
- "This answer is based on web research only — please verify against your internal documentation before sharing with the customer."
- "I found a possible answer but couldn't confirm it from an authoritative internal source."

5. Customer-Facing Considerations

If the research is to answer a customer question:

Flag if the answer involves product roadmap, pricing, legal, or security topics that may need review
Note if the answer differs from what may have been communicated previously
Suggest appropriate caveats for the customer-facing response
Offer to draft the customer response: "Want me to draft a response to the customer based on these findings?"

6. Knowledge Capture

After research is complete, suggest capturing the knowledge:

"Should I save these findings to your knowledge base for future reference?"
"Want me to create a FAQ entry based on this research?"
"This might be worth documenting — should I draft a runbook entry?"

This helps build institutional knowledge and reduces duplicate research effort across the team.

Source Prioritization and Confidence

Confidence by Source Tier

Tier	Source Type	Confidence	Notes
1	Official internal docs, KB, policies	High	Trust unless clearly outdated — check dates
2	CRM, support tickets, meeting notes	Medium-High	May be subjective or incomplete
3	Chat, email, calendar notes	Medium	Informal, may be out of context or speculative
4	Web, forums, third-party docs	Low-Medium	May not reflect your specific situation
5	Inference, analogies, best practices	Low	Clearly flag as inference, not fact

Confidence Levels

Always assign and communicate a confidence level:

High Confidence:

Answer confirmed by official documentation or authoritative source
Multiple sources corroborate the same answer
Information is current (verified within a reasonable timeframe)
"I'm confident this is accurate based on [source]."

Medium Confidence:

Answer found in informal sources (chat, email) but not official docs
Single source without corroboration
Information may be slightly outdated but likely still valid
"Based on [source], this appears to be the case, but I'd recommend confirming with [team/person]."

Low Confidence:

Answer is inferred from related information
Sources are outdated or potentially unreliable
Contradictory information found across sources
"I wasn't able to find a definitive answer. Based on [context], my best assessment is [answer], but this should be verified before sharing with the customer."

Unable to Determine:

No relevant information found in any source
Question requires specialized knowledge not available in sources
"I couldn't find information about this. I recommend reaching out to [suggested expert/team] for a definitive answer."

Handling Contradictions

When sources disagree:

Note the contradiction explicitly
Identify which source is more authoritative or more recent
Present both perspectives with context
Recommend how to resolve the discrepancy
If going to a customer: use the most conservative/cautious answer until resolved

When to Escalate vs. Answer Directly

Answer Directly When:

Official documentation clearly addresses the question
Multiple reliable sources corroborate the answer
The question is factual and non-sensitive
The answer doesn't involve commitments, timelines, or pricing
You've answered similar questions before with confirmed accuracy

Escalate or Verify When:

The answer involves product roadmap commitments or timelines
Pricing, legal terms, or contract-specific questions
Security, compliance, or data handling questions
The answer could set a precedent or create expectations
You found contradictory information in sources
The question involves a specific customer's custom configuration
The answer requires specialized expertise you don't have
The customer is at risk and the wrong answer could exacerbate the situation

Escalation Path:

Subject matter expert: For technical or domain-specific questions
Product team: For roadmap, feature, or capability questions
Legal/compliance: For terms, privacy, security, or regulatory questions
Billing/finance: For pricing, invoice, or payment-related questions
Engineering: For custom configurations, bugs, or technical root causes
Leadership: For strategic decisions, exceptions, or high-stakes situations

Research Documentation for Team Knowledge Base

After completing research, capture the knowledge for future use.

When to Document:

Question has come up before or likely will again
Research took significant effort to compile
Answer required synthesizing multiple sources
Answer corrects a common misunderstanding
Answer involves nuance that's easy to get wrong

Documentation Format:

## [Question/Topic]

**Last Verified:** [date]
**Confidence:** [level]

### Answer
[Clear, direct answer]

### Details
[Supporting detail, context, and nuance]

### Sources
[Where this information came from]

### Related Questions
[Other questions this might help answer]

### Review Notes
[When to re-verify, what might change this answer]

Knowledge Base Hygiene:

Date-stamp all entries
Flag entries that reference specific product versions or features
Review and update entries quarterly
Archive entries that are no longer relevant
Tag entries for searchability (by topic, product area, customer segment)

customer-research

/customer-research

Usage

Workflow

1. Parse the Research Request