How to set up a knowledge base on a subdomain

The Semly knowledge base is a separate space with articles that help AI models better understand your brand, products, services, advantages, and answers to customer questions.

It can run under your own subdomain, for example:

knowledge.yourdomain.com

This way, the content is publicly available to users and LLM bots, and at the same time optimized for the way AI models analyze websites.

You can see an example knowledge base here:

https://knowledge.semly.ai/

What is the Semly knowledge base?

The Semly knowledge base is a public page with articles prepared based on an analysis of the brand’s visibility in AI.

Its goal is to organize information about the brand in a way that’s understandable for:

• users

• AI models

• LLM bots

• search engines

• systems that analyze content

• tools that use structured data

A knowledge base can contain articles answering customer questions, product explanations, guides, comparisons, FAQs, and content supporting specific prompts monitored in Semly.

A knowledge base isn’t just a place to publish articles. It’s an organized layer of knowledge about the brand, prepared for users and AI systems.

Why does the knowledge base run on a subdomain?

The knowledge base can be launched on your subdomain, for example:

knowledge.yourdomain.com

This way, the content is tied to your brand and domain, but at the same time can operate in a separate, technically optimized space.

This solution is useful when:

• you don’t have easy access to the CMS

• publishing on the blog requires help from a developer or technical team

• you want to separate AI content from the main blog

• you want to publish articles generated in Semly faster

• you want to keep a consistent content structure

• you want to have a ready-made knowledge layer optimized for LLM bots

• you don’t want to interfere with the current template or technology of the site

A subdomain lets you quickly launch a knowledge base without rebuilding your current website.

The knowledge base runs on Semly’s infrastructure

The knowledge base is hosted on Semly’s servers. This means you don’t have to build a publishing system yourself, implement a template, create the technical structure, or configure data for AI models from scratch.

Semly takes care of the technical layer of the knowledge base, including:

• content hosting

• article structure for LLMs

• public access to the content

• optimization for LLM bots

• public API and MCP for LLM bots

Thanks to this, you can focus on content quality, accuracy of information, and linking to their own products or services.

The knowledge base is prepared so that it’s easy to read both for users and for AI systems analyzing the content.

What is generated automatically?

After configuring the knowledge base, Semly automatically prepares the technical elements that help organize the content and make it available to AI systems.

Among the elements generated automatically are:

• automatic XML sitemap

• llms.txt file

• structured data

• internal links to the client’s website content

• content versions in AI-friendly formats

• JSON-LD data

• content in Markdown

Thanks to the automatic sitemap and the llms.txt file, AI models can more easily find and understand the most important content in the knowledge base.

Why is llms.txt important?

The llms.txt file is a simple text file that helps AI systems understand what a given page is and where its most important resources are located.

In the Semly knowledge base, the llms.txt file can point to, among other things:

• knowledge base description

• a list of the most important articles

• a link to the sitemap

• key resources for AI models

• brand information

• language and content context

Thanks to this, LLM bots can more quickly identify that the knowledge base is a place with organized information about the brand.

The llms.txt file doesn’t replace good content, but it helps AI systems find and interpret the most important resources faster.

Structured data and AI-friendly formats

The Semly knowledge base is designed with AI models and content analysis systems in mind.

Articles can be shared in formats such as:

• HTML

• Markdown

• JSON-LD

• structured data

• public API and MCP for LLM bots

Structured data helps better describe the type of content, its topic, context, and the relationships between elements.

Markdown is easy for AI systems to read and process.

JSON-LD lets you pass data in an organized form that’s useful for systems analyzing the structure of content.

The Semly knowledge base connects content for the user with a technical structure that’s friendly to AI models.

Public API and MCP for LLM bots

The Semly knowledge base can also share content through an open API and public MCP.

Thanks to this, AI systems and LLM bots can access structured data in a more technical and predictable way than through classic website browsing.

This can make it easier to:

• read the list of articles

• fetch content in a structured format

• analyze brand knowledge

• access data in Markdown or JSON-LD

• use the knowledge base in AI systems

• interpret relationships between articles and topics

Public APIs and MCP help share brand knowledge in a way that’s friendly for modern AI systems.

How do you set up a knowledge base on a subdomain?

To run a knowledge base on your own subdomain, you need to add the right DNS record.

Example subdomain:

knowledge.yourdomain.com

Basic steps:

1. Go to Knowledge base configuration in Semly

2. Enter the subdomain name, e.g. knowledge. You can also use another name, such as ai, llms, or help

3. Copy the DNS record value provided in the panel

4. Log in to the DNS panel of your domain

5. Add the required record for the subdomain

6. Save the changes

7. Go back to Semly

8. Click Verify and activate

Don’t change the main domain record if it serves your current website. Add a separate A record only for the selected subdomain.

Example subdomain configuration

If your domain is:

yourdomain.com

you can create a subdomain:

knowledge.yourdomain.com

In the DNS panel you add a record for the subdomain knowledge, not for the whole domain.

Example:

Type: A
Name: knowledge
Value: IP address provided in the Semly panel

After saving the changes, DNS might need some time to propagate. It usually takes from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on your domain provider.

If you don’t have access to the DNS panel, pass the record details to a technical person or the company that manages your domain.

What do the buttons in the knowledge base look like?

In the knowledge base you can set up buttons that help the user get to the most important places.

Most often two buttons are used:

• button leading to the main page of the knowledge base

• button leading to the client’s website

Example:

• Knowledge base leads to the main page of the knowledge base

• Go to the store leads to the main page of the store or a selected client’s website

You can adjust the button texts to match your own communication.

Example button texts:

• Go back to the knowledge base

• Go to the store

• See the offer

• Check the products

• Contact us

• Visit the page

• See services

One button should help the user navigate the knowledge base, and the other should lead to the main page, store, offer, or another client’s website.

How to add your own HTML?

The knowledge base lets the customer customize selected page elements by adding their own HTML code.

You can add HTML, among others:

• in the article list

• in the footer

• above the content of all articles

Thanks to this, you can add extra information, links, messages, navigation elements, or simple promo blocks.

Examples of use:

• brand information

• link to the store

• link to the contact form

• additional CTA

• short offer description

• link to the main page

• information about help

• section with the most important categories

When adding your own HTML, make sure the code is correct and doesn’t make it harder for users or AI bots to read the content.

You can add your own CSS and JavaScript. You can easily prepare the HTML code with the help of AI tools, e.g. ChatGPT.

Automatic internal linking to the client’s website

Articles in the Semly knowledge base can automatically link to valuable and related content on the client’s website.

Semly analyzes the topic of the article and the available pages on the site, and then detects places it’s worth sending the user to. Thanks to this, the article can lead from educational content to specific products, categories, services, or other important subpages.

Automatic linking can lead, among other things, to:

• the homepage

• category pages

• product pages

• service pages

• the contact form

• guides

• FAQ

• pages with shipping information

• pages with returns information

• comparison pages

Example:

If the article answers the question:

Semly can automatically detect and add links to related pages, such as:

• category of storage beds

• selected products

• a guide on choosing a bed

• a page with delivery information

Automatic linking makes the knowledge base not just a collection of articles, but guides the user to the right products, services, and client’s website.

Uniqueness of articles and duplicate content

Articles published in the knowledge base should be unique.

You shouldn’t copy content 1:1 that’s already published on the blog, category page, or other subpages. This can lead to a duplicate content problem, meaning the same content is repeated in many places.

Instead of copying existing content:

• create a new article based on a specific prompt

• update articles based on recommendations

Don’t copy content 1:1 from the blog or product page into the knowledge base. Articles should be unique and answer specific user questions.

The knowledge base is available to bots and users

The knowledge base is public. This means that both LLM bots and regular users can use it.

That’s why the content should be:

• useful

• understandable

• up to date

• factually correct

• unique

• well linked

• in line with the offer

• written in natural language

• readable for humans

• structured for AI systems

Content in the knowledge base should be written for both users and AI models at the same time. The best articles are helpful for humans and technically easy to understand for AI systems.

Add a link to the knowledge base on your website

Once you launch the knowledge base, it’s a good idea to add a link to it from the client’s main page.

The most common places for the link:

• page footer

• menu

• help section

• blog

• knowledge center

• contact page

• FAQ page

• HTML sitemap

The simplest solution is to add a link in the footer, for example:

Knowledge base

leading to:

https://knowledge.yourdomain.com

Thanks to this, users and bots will find the knowledge base more easily.

Adding a link to the knowledge base from the main page boosts its visibility and helps bots find new content.

Add the knowledge base to the XML sitemap

Besides the link in the footer, it’s worth adding the knowledge base to the main XML sitemap.

Thanks to this, systems analyzing the site can detect faster that the knowledge base is part of the brand’s ecosystem.

In the main sitemap you can add the address:

https://knowledge.yourdomain.com

or a reference to the knowledge base sitemap, if it’s available.

If you don’t have access to the XML sitemap, ask a technical person to add the knowledge base to the sitemap or to link it from the main website.

How to check if the knowledge base works correctly?

After configuration, check a few basic elements.

Checklist:

• the subdomain opens in the browser

• the knowledge base home page works

• articles are publicly available

• buttons lead to the correct addresses

• links in articles work

• the sitemap is available

• the llms.txt file is available

• the content isn’t a copy of existing articles

• the knowledge base is linked from the main website

• the knowledge base has been added to the XML sitemap

• custom HTML doesn’t break the page layout

After launching the knowledge base, check it both technically and from the user’s perspective.

What to avoid when setting up a knowledge base?

The most common mistakes are:

• no link to the knowledge base from the main page

• not adding the knowledge base to the XML sitemap

• copying content from the blog 1:1

• wrong DNS configuration

• changing the main domain record instead of the subdomain

• buttons leading to wrong places

• custom HTML with errors

• publishing articles without checking them

The knowledge base is public. Don’t publish test, wrong, outdated, or copy-pasted content from other places in it.

What to do after configuration?

After launching the knowledge base, do a few extra things.

Check:

• whether DNS was configured correctly

• whether Semly has confirmed the subdomain activation

• whether the main page of the knowledge base works

• whether the generated articles are visible

• whether the buttons lead to the correct pages

• whether the knowledge base is linked from the homepage

• whether the knowledge base has been added to the XML sitemap on your website

Then monitor:

• visibility of prompts related to articles

• AI answer sources - the knowledge base should show up as a new citation source

• brand position

• sentiment

• Semly recommendations

• competitors’ appearances

Related articles

Summary

A knowledge base on a subdomain lets you quickly publish organized content about your brand, products, and services without rebuilding the main site.

Main benefits:

• runs on Semly infrastructure

• is optimized for LLM bots

• automatically generates a sitemap

• automatically generates the llms.txt file

• supports structured data

• shares content in HTML, Markdown and JSON-LD

• can expose a public API and MCP

• lets you publish unique articles

• lets you link to the client’s website

• gives you the option to edit buttons and your own HTML

• is available to users and AI systems

After launching the knowledge base, add a link to it from the main page and include it in the XML sitemap. This helps users and bots find new content faster.