From Docs to Bots: How MadCap Flare and Copilot Can Become Best Friends

In today’s business environment, internal teams need answers instantly, mainly because that's what customer expect. If you're in L&D, technical writing or any other business facing team your customer is the company.

The quote that comes to mind on this topic is from Neil Gaiman:

“Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”

The irony in this is that I couldn't remember the quote, so I asked Copilot.

I also checked with Chat GPT.

This is great. I don't need to espouse the well funded benefits of chat bots here but, what if you're trying to use it for business. It still doesn't do what a librarian can do. The AI I've used in this example is searching the web and using an LLM to provide it's responses. In a business environment though, much of the proprietary information can't be found by this kind of AI.

Here's a totally made up but legitimate example of a question if you're trying to use an AI to help with a product problem.

And, in the interest of balance, here's the Copilot response.

I've had a lot of success implementing custom Copilot agents powered by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and trained on structured content from MadCap Flare. By combining AI intelligence with single-sourced documentation, you can deliver accurate, context-rich responses to support teams, trainers and product specialists in seconds. This speed is great but it doesn't end there. Getting this right can change the way knowledge is shared within a business.

Why MadCap Flare Is the Perfect Foundation

MadCap Flare and other similar tools are built for single-source, multi-channel publishing. Instead of scattered documents, you have a structured content repository with topics, snippets, variables and conditions.

This structure is so good for AI integration because:

• Content is modular and reusable.

• Metadata and hierarchy make retrieval precise.

• Updates cascade across outputs making training AI part of an existing process.

When you feed this into a Copilot agent, you’re giving it context-rich, well-organised knowledge. If you set it up properly, updating the knowledge source is a by product of the existing process. It's another channel in multi-channel publication.

How RAG Makes It Smart

RAG works in two steps:

• Retrieve: When someone asks a question the Copilot searches your indexed Flare content for the most relevant sections.

• Generate: It then crafts a clear, natural language answer using that retrieved content.

This means answers aren’t based on the web, they're based off information you and your teams need to know.

What does that look like in practice:

• Support Teams: Instead of scrolling through PDFs, they ask Copilot, “What’s the latest wiring guide for Model X?” and get the exact snippet from Flare.

• Training Teams: Need to prep for a new product launch? Copilot pulls structured topics and even suggests learning paths.

• Operations: When a part number changes, Copilot knows instantly because Flare was updated once and that update flows everywhere.

Getting Everyone on Board: How to Win Buy-In for Single-Source Publishing

Show don't tell!

I've found that projects like single sourcing can be difficult to sell internally. There are misconceptions about what it takes to get great documentation and while the cost isn't significant in comparison to other major internal system projects, it's still a cost.

In my experience the major cost isn't a financial one. The ship is sailing so to speak, it's got half the crew with their fingers in holes blocking a leaks, but it's still afloat. Implementing a new CRM, moving from Microsoft Dynamics to Oracle for example is an easy sell in comparison.

In the hypothetical Navy I've just created, a CRM swap out is like convincing the Admiralty to fund a new Aircraft carrier. "This one is faster Ma'am, it's got more planes, bigger guns and it'll be cheaper to run". A project like single sourcing is harder. This is more akin to saying. "I can make your entire fleet faster but you'll need to go without fuel for a few months." I won't call it tech debt here but if your key stakeholder is the CTO, it'll be a good start.

Even the most dedicated technical writer has to admit that discussing the finer points of the most efficient way to handle SKU's changing in the product range isn't the most invigorating of subjects. In this example I'd start with a question. How much time does the service desk spend answering field service calls about part numbers? What do we spend in logistics costs on incorrect parts being shipped. I guarantee the leadership in the Operations and Logistics team will know the answer. They may not know how single sourcing can help.

I summarised the top line in my previous post From Chaos to Clarity: How Single-Source Multi-Channel Publishing can set you up for success. but I wanted to go into more detail about getting stakeholders onboard in this post.

Investigate

The chances are you already know what can be done with a project like this, hence reading this blog, but it's really important to gather feedback and pain points from others. Before pitching, gather specifics.

Volume of Content: Where does information live? Product information is a pretty vague term on the surface and can cover anything from the service support telephone number to wiring guides for hardware. Cover it all. Put yourself in the mind of colleagues and customers. Ask yourself a question then go and find the answer. You'll need to know what existing tools you're dealing with for the implementation stage but assessing what is where and how much of it there is is step one.

Duplication Rate: How often is the same content repeated in multiple places? This is closely link to the step above. When you asks the questions about the available information don't stop when you get one answer. See you if can find it in another place. Even better if you can find a contradiction. Record the questions, the answers and the source. You'll need them later. This is a good time to extend that search outside of what you might consider writing tools or even places that information is usually stored.

In every team, department or business there is always an oracle. Depending on the size there might even be a few. That person that's been around for years and just knows the answer. They'll usually be able to dig up an email or run a script that tells exactly what you need to know. Check your questions with them. Ask them what they got asked in the last 6 months. You'll meet the odd knowledge hoarder but in most cases these people will be very busy so saying "I want to know what you get asked all the time so that it's the last time you have to answer that question" will be music to their ears.

Error Impact: What’s the cost of incorrect documentation? This is the hardest and easiest piece to give guidance on. It's the hardest because the impact of erroneous documentation on different sectors is impossible to compare. Quantifying and showing that to the stakeholder in a project is down to you. It's the easiest because it's the most obvious. When you're looking to get buy in though, don't stop at what you know to be the impact. As I said earlier, speak to team and department leaders about pain points. They'll tell you what incorrect information costs their team. Compliance is a core part of all business activity and even more so in regulated industries. When looking at impact, ask yourself what could happen "if" we got this wrong. Compliance is a great place to go looking for numbers. Regulators and governing bodies will have a lot of details on the fines if you are to fall foul of the required standards.

Update Frequency: How often do product changes require documentation updates? How often is a good question. A better question is how quickly do we have to turn it around. What's the deadline. If you work with a cloud platform, how long have you got between getting a finished version to look at and it going live. Hardware raises a similar question. What's the lead time for a new part with a new part number and config requirements hitting the build line. The answer is not much. It's always not much. If a component. driver or plug in changes, can you get that out to everyone who needs it in a way they can use fast enough without single sourcing.

Channels: Where does content need to go? PDFs, web, internal portals, AI assistants? If you are not already using single sourcing then it probably means for every destination there's another person. Another person will need time to do their bit, impacting on update timelines. If you've got tech writers creating PDF's to send to one place and word docs so marketing can post on the website take note. Ok, it might only be an extra email or a link to share the finished content but a key thing to consider at this point is how that gets updated. PDF's and links float around like bad smells. You can't guarantee an update that's been created is the one being used.

Presenting your findings

Here's some bullet points to help collate the investigation stage.

• Explain that the goal isn’t just to “fix documentation” it’s to solve real business problems.

• Where does product information live?

• Highlight the complexity of existing process.

• Show examples of duplicated or contradictory content.

• Explain why duplication means risk (errors, wasted time, compliance issues).

• Highlight the "Oracle" Every team has experts who “just know” the answers.

  • Position the project as a way to stop them answering the same thing forever.

• What does incorrect documentation cost?

• Show urgency in line with changes and updates

• Show risk in :

  • PDFs and links floating around. Updates aren’t guaranteed to reach everyone.

  • Delayed knowledge transfer. Every channel is another person, another delay.

• Position the solution:

  • Update once, publish everywhere.

  • Reduce duplication and errors.

  • Improve speed and compliance.

Single Sourcing: The Superpower Your Product Team Didn’t Know They Needed

Single Sourcing – Setting the Stage

The north star for all single-sourcing projects is the same. Increase efficiency and improve training and documentation outputs. When done right, single sourcing eliminates duplication, reduces errors, and creates a consistent experience across every channel. But in today’s world, there’s an added dimension in the form of AI integration. As AI becomes a key part of workplace tools, the structure and format of your data matter more than ever.

The great thing about this evolution is that applications like MadCap Flare (my personal favourite) seem almost purpose-built for this future. Clearly this wasn't part of these software tools design from the outset but you couldn't have come up with a better way to set up your data to be used in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models.

Single sourcing allows teams to perfectly with what AI tools need to function effectively. If you’re starting your single-sourcing journey, here are some key considerations to set yourself up for success.

Treat Your Documentation Like a Product

As a technical writer or product manager you’ll be tied into the detailed controls, reviews, and release gates delivery teams use. Why? Because structure and governance ensure quality. The same principle applies to documentation. Treat your content like code. Implement version control, peer reviews, and structured workflows. While the technicalities may vary from business to business, mirroring existing deployment and release processes can help secure buy-in. People trust processes they already know and applying them to documentation makes the transition smoother.

Demarcation Matters

One of the biggest challenges in documentation is scope creep. When multiple teams contribute content it’s easy for boundaries to blur. From the outset, define what’s in scope and what isn’t. Agree on ownership for each content type and set clear rules for overlap. For example, product specifications might sit with engineering, while usage guides belong to training. Without demarcation, you can loose the single out of single sourcing.

Think Multi-Channel from Day One

Single sourcing isn’t just about consolidating content it’s about publishing everywhere from one source. Internal knowledge bases, PDFs, customer-facing websites, and even AI-powered assistants should all draw from the same structured content. This approach ensures consistency and reduces the risk of conflicting information. As AI tools become more prevalent, your documentation will feed machine learning models, chatbots, and virtual assistants. The better your structure now, the smarter your AI later.

The Payoff

The benefits of single sourcing go beyond efficiency. It creates a foundation for scalability, compliance, and innovation. For startups and scale-ups, this is a golden opportunity to get ahead of the curve. Building a unified content strategy early means fewer headaches as you grow and positions your team to support the business to leverage AI in ways competitors can’t.