Create KBA questions

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
  • Create knowledge-based questions to use for caller identification and authentication in AI voice agent interactions.

    Before you begin

    Role required: auth_factors_admin

    Default questions
    A set of KBA questions default is available to all AI voice assistants in AI Voice Assistant Designer. You can use these questions as-is or edit them.
    Table 1. Default KBA questions
    Question Default answer source Type Category
    Phone Number sys_user.mobile_phone Identification Phone, triggers Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
    Employee ID sys_user.employee_number Identification or Authentication Others
    Email sys_user.email Identification or Authentication Others
    Manager sys_user.manager Identification or Authentication Others
    Zip Code sys_user.zip Identification or Authentication Others

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Authentication Factors > Knowledge Based Factor > Questions.
    2. Select New on the Knowledge Based Questions page.
    3. Specify the following fields on the form:
      Table 2. Knowledge-Based Questions
      Field Description
      Question Define a security question to be used for user identity verification. Example: What is your business phone number?
      Application Global application scope is selected by default.
      Keyword Enter the primary keyword that best describes the question. Example: business_phone.
      Category Select the category. Options:
      • Phone Number: Enables partial phone number matching and makes the caller's ANI (automatic number identification) available by default for identification.
      • Others: Standard matching; ANI is not used.
      Note:
      Phone Number category can't be used for authentication.
      Channel Select the channel for which the question is configured. Currently, only Voice is supported.
      Input Type Select how the user provides their answer. Options:
      • Text: The caller enters a response via phone keypad.
      • Voice: The callers speak their response.
      Type Select when the question is available for use. Options:
      • Identification: The question is available for identification configuration only.
      • Authentication: The question is available for authentication configuration only.
      • Identification or Authentication: The question is available for both.
    4. Select the Input Type:
      1. Input Type as Text: No additional fields are required.
        Figure 1. Knowledge Based Question - Text
        Knowledge Based Question - Text
        Note:
        If Input Type is set to Text, no additional fields are required.
      2. Input Type as Voice: Specify the following additional fields:
      Table 3. Voice input fields
      Field Description
      Input Format Description

      Describe the expected format and structure of the spoken response. For example: 5-character alphanumeric employee ID starting with the letter E.

      Input Format Example

      Specify comma-separated examples of valid spoken responses. For example: E372B, E481K, E529D.

      Input Validation Pattern

      Specify a regular expression pattern to validate the spoken response against the expected format. For example: ^E[0-9]{3}[A-Z]$.

      Figure 2. Knowledge Based Question - Voice
      Knowledge Based Question - Text
    5. Select Submit.

    Result

    You’re redirected to the Knowledge Based Questions list view. Verify if your question is successfully added.

    Figure 3. Knowledge Based Questions - list
    Knowledge Based Question - list