SharePoint knowledge base from HR documents

Key insights

• Copilot planned the structure before building the knowledge base.
• The demo used 30 HR, IT, and onboarding documents as source material.
• Pages were interlinked and organized by topic and task.
• Page properties included tags, descriptions, type, and a link to the source Word document.
• Adding or changing a document triggered Copilot to place or refresh related content.
• Microsoft says the feature is in Frontier preview and uses Copilot credits.

Daniel Anderson [MVP] recently published a 12-minute, 47-second YouTube video showing how Copilot can turn more than 30 HR documents into a searchable SharePoint knowledge base. The main takeaway is simple: instead of leaving policies and handbooks scattered across folders, Copilot can plan the structure, build linked pages, and keep them aligned with source documents as those files change.

The demo focuses on a practical scenario for HR, but the same pattern also covers IT and onboarding material. Anderson shows Copilot reviewing a set of documents, proposing a knowledge base structure, building it section by section, and then updating the result when a new document is added or an existing one is edited. Microsoft’s documentation and announcement frame this as a knowledge layer that is intended to help both people and agents find and reuse organizational knowledge.

The feature is still early. Anderson says SharePoint knowledge bases are in Frontier preview, and that building them with Copilot uses Copilot credits. That means the menu labels, options, and behavior may still change before general availability, so this is best treated as an early look rather than a finished rollout.

What’s new

The video shows Copilot doing more than summarizing a few files. It first analyzes a folder of documents and proposes a knowledge base structure, then lets the user review that plan before anything is built. Anderson then lets Copilot generate an interlinked SharePoint knowledge base from the source documents.

Once the pages exist, Copilot also helps maintain them. Anderson demonstrates adding a new document so Copilot can decide where it belongs, and then changing a source document so the knowledge base can be refreshed to reflect the update. Page properties shown in the demo include tags, descriptions, type, and a link back to the source Word document.

Why it matters

For HR teams, the value is in turning a pile of policies, procedures, and onboarding material into something employees can search and navigate more easily. That matters to admins and knowledge owners because the source content can stay in SharePoint, while the output becomes a structured knowledge base instead of a set of disconnected files.

The research notes and Microsoft documentation also point to a wider use case: SharePoint knowledge bases are meant to support employees, Copilot, and AI agents. Microsoft says grounding Copilot and agents on a SharePoint knowledge base gave up to 4x faster responses and 30% better token efficiency in internal testing. That is not a public benchmark for every tenant, but it explains why Microsoft is pushing structured knowledge rather than isolated documents.

For daily work, the change is less about creating new content and more about reducing the time spent searching for the right file. A consolidated knowledge base can help answer questions that would otherwise require opening several documents and checking which one is current. The early preview status and Copilot credit requirement mean teams will need to weigh the work of building it against the value of having a maintained knowledge layer.

How it works

Anderson’s video follows a straightforward flow. Copilot first looks at the folder of HR, IT, and onboarding documents and suggests a structure. The user reviews that plan, then Copilot builds the knowledge base in sections organized by topic and task. The resulting pages are interlinked, so the navigation reflects relationships between topics rather than a flat list of files.

Microsoft’s documentation adds the broader model behind that experience. The SharePoint knowledge base sits on a SharePoint site and can draw from organizational sources such as SharePoint sites, document libraries, Teams conversations and channels, emails, and meeting information. Once created, the knowledge base can be found through SharePoint navigation or Microsoft 365 search.

1. Create or select a SharePoint site for the knowledge base.
2. Add the source documents and related content.
3. Use Copilot to propose a structure and build the pages.
4. Review the generated pages, properties, and links back to the source files.
5. Add new documents or refresh changed source documents so the knowledge base stays current.

The Microsoft announcement also says the knowledge base can be added to SharePoint sites that support Teams channels and Microsoft 365 Groups. That makes it more than a standalone folder replacement: it is positioned as part of the broader Microsoft 365 knowledge surface.

Limitations and open questions

The biggest limitation is that this is still Frontier preview, so the user experience is not final. Anderson explicitly says menus, options, and behavior are likely to change before general availability. The video also shows that Copilot credits are required to build the knowledge base, but the source material does not give pricing or usage details.

Some operational details are still unclear from the material. The sources do not say which licenses are required, whether the feature is available in all tenants, or how long refreshes take after a source document changes. The research notes mention that Microsoft’s underlying approach uses a knowledge compilation engine and that content can come from several Microsoft 365 sources, but the video itself focuses on HR documents and does not prove every source type in a live build.

It is also worth separating the demo from the internal testing figures in Microsoft’s announcement. The 4x faster responses and 30% better token efficiency are Microsoft’s internal results, not a promise for every environment. For readers considering this for their own team, the practical next step is to validate whether their documents are clean enough, current enough, and well governed enough to serve as a reliable knowledge base source.

Sources

• Daniel Anderson [MVP] video Turn 30+ HR Docs Into a Searchable SharePoint Knowledge Base
• Microsoft announcement on SharePoint knowledge base curated by Copilot and agents
• Microsoft support guide for getting started with SharePoint knowledge base

Frequently asked questions

What did Daniel Anderson show in the video?

He showed Copilot analyzing around 30 HR, IT, and onboarding documents, proposing a structure, and building an interlinked SharePoint knowledge base. He also showed adding a new document and refreshing pages after a source document changed.

Is this feature generally available yet?

No. Anderson says SharePoint knowledge bases are in Frontier preview, and he notes that menus, options, and behavior may still change before general availability.

Does building the knowledge base require Copilot credits?

Yes. Anderson says building the knowledge base with Copilot uses Copilot credits. The material does not provide pricing or detailed usage limits.

What sources can the knowledge base use?

Microsoft’s documentation says it can draw from SharePoint sites, document libraries, Teams conversations and channels, emails, and meeting information. The video itself demonstrates HR documents as the source material.