Wikis and knowledge bases are company tools with different content and usage areas. Many businesses struggle to understand the differences between a wiki and a knowledge base, and which one is the best fit for their needs. If you are wondering whether your company needs a data library, wiki, or knowledge base, we’ve got you covered!

In this article, we will compare the differences between wikis and knowledge bases and their intended uses.

Ready? Let’s dive in!

TL; DR

  • Corporate wikis allow your employees to create a cumulative knowledge base and find the information they seek.
  • Knowledge bases allow you to create an organized knowledge and data repository for employees and allow your employees to access the information they are looking for much more quickly.
  • While corporate wikis are useful for creating a cumulative knowledge repository for employees and customers, knowledge bases allow you to create categorized, concise data information for employees and customers.
  • The biggest differences between a wiki and a knowledge base are their purpose, format and organization, and the speed of navigation between them.
  • If you are looking for an effective knowledge base solution for your employees, TextCortex is the way to go with its conversational AI assistant ZenoChat, web search, multiple LLMs, and powerful RAG.

What is a Corporate Wiki?

A corporate wiki is a data and information-sharing storage library that only employees in your company can edit, add to, or remove. It's a central database where a community of employees can contribute or edit content related to the company's projects, products, services, progress, and documentation.

What to Include in aCorporate Wiki?

A corporate wiki should contain documents that your employees can edit and add to, including information about projects, products, or services. The most common types of data that you can include in a corporate wiki include:

  • Vision
  • Mission
  • Culture
  • Employee Handbooks
  • Staff Manuals
  • HR Policies
  • SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure)
  • Onboarding Materials
  • FAQs
  • How-to Guides
  • Sources for Process Documents
  • Past Documents

Benefits of Corporate Wiki

A corporate wiki allows employees to share, edit, update, and search information quickly and easily across your company. Additionally, every employee can contribute to your company's wiki and make it more organized or messy. Some of the benefits of a corporate wiki include:

  • Time-Saving
  • Centralized Information Sharing
  • Preserved Knowledge
  • Collaborative Work Culture
  • Cumulative Resources
  • Better Productivity

Corporate Wiki Challenges

Although corporate wiki comes with lots of benefits, it also has some disadvantages, both because anyone can edit it and because it is accessible to all employees. Some of the challenges of corporate wiki include:

  • Less Control Over Content
  • Less Structured Than Knowledge Bases
  • Lack of Analytics
  • Extra Work for Employees
  • Navigation and Information Finding Problems

What is a Knowledge Base?

A knowledge base is an online library of information that your team can access to learn more about your company culture, ongoing projects, previous projects, policies, services, and guides.

A knowledge base helps a company collect, organize, manage, share, and retrieve information from operations. There are mainly two types of knowledge base that offer different benefits and use cases.

What is a Knowledge Base?

What to Include in a Knowledge Base?

Knowledge bases contain the information your employees or customers need. Internal knowledge bases contain the information your employees need, while external knowledge bases should contain the information your customers need. Some of the data types that you can include in a company knowledge base include:

  • FAQs
  • Manuals
  • How-to Guides
  • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Runbooks
  • Project Resources
  • SOPs
  • Onboarding Materials
  • Progress Reports
  • Documentation
  • Blog Posts
  • Product & Service Instructions

Benefits of a Knowledge Base

Knowledge-based systems offer a variety of benefits for both your employees and your customers. Knowledge bases are more comprehensive in terms of functionality and features than wikis. Some of the benefits of knowledge bases over wikis include:

  • Fast and Concise Search Function
  • User-Friendly Categorization System
  • Data Analysis Function
  • Integration with Workflows
  • Centralized Information Source

Moreover, with tools like TextCortex that power your knowledge bases with AI, you can complete your data analysis tasks in less than a minute and find the information you are looking for in a conversational format.

Knowledge Bases Challenges

Although knowledge bases provide lots of advantages, they also have negative aspects. Some of the knowledge base challenges include:

  • Less Collaboration
  • Requires Maintenance
  • Requires Regular Updates

Wiki vs. Knowledge Base: Comparison

Wikis and knowledge bases have their own purposes and usage patterns. If you are curious about the specific differences and characteristics of both tools, read on!

Purpose

The purpose of corporate wikis is for employees to create a common knowledge pool and for everyone to add, edit, and change information. It increases team collaboration and brainstorming quality. However, since company wikis are not structured, they do not provide employees with fast access to information. Corporate wikis are accessible and editable by all employees.

Knowledge bases aim to provide quick access to necessary information. Internal knowledge bases give employees fast access to the data they need, while external knowledge bases allow customers to quickly find answers to their questions. While all employees can typically access the information within a knowledge base, editing privileges are usually restricted.

Format and Organization

Company wikis do not have specific rules and structures because they can be edited by anyone. Searching for information or data in a company wiki is a laborious and time-consuming process. On the other hand, knowledge bases are organized by category because they are managed by one or a few people and allow employees to quickly access the information they are looking for. While company wikis contain information that conveys research and experiences, knowledge bases contain data that is being analyzed or can be analyzed.

Search & Navigation

Company wikis often consist of disorganized blocks of information, making navigation and information retrieval challenging. This is because they lack defined categories and systematic organization. Knowledge bases, in contrast, categorize data and information into structured categories that are updated regularly. This structure makes knowledge bases more effective for employees and customers seeking specific data. Furthermore, AI-powered knowledge bases enable rapid information retrieval, allowing users to find what they need in seconds and transform raw data into insightful information.

Knowledge Base Search & Navigation

TextCortex AI: Enhance Your Knowledge Management Game

TextCortex offers its users a variety of features, as well as AI-powered customizable knowledge bases. You can upload your internal data to TextCortex or integrate your existing knowledge sources, such as Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Notion, into TextCortex.

TextCortex knowledge bases allow you to quickly retrieve specific information from your data pool. Powered by TextCortex's robust RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) technology, you can even access text within images. Another benefit is the improved efficiency in completing data analysis tasks. Beyond knowledge bases, TextCortex offers features like workflow automation, web search, multiple LLMs (Large Language Models), multiple image generators, and the ability to build custom AI agents. By leveraging these tools, you can boost both overall company performance and the individual productivity of your employees. Check out the results from one of our case studies:

  • Reduction of internal expertise search time from minutes to seconds
  • 10-12% more efficient proposal creation
  • Employee confidence in working with AI improved from 8/10 to 10/10
  • Employee enthusiasm toward AI increased from 25% to 67%
  • 94% of employees report that AI improves their work quality

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between knowledge base and wiki?

While knowledge bases are regularly organized systems that make it easier for employees or customers to access information, wikis are libraries that anyone can edit, and users can get lost among blocks of information.

What is the purpose of a wiki?

A wiki is a collaborative library where users can add, edit, or remove content. A company wiki is a library where all employees can edit and access company-related information. A company wiki can include written content, documents, videos, voices, and images.

What is a wiki knowledge base?

A knowledge base is similar to an internal wiki in that it is a centralized repository of information and data. However, unlike a wiki, a knowledge base can be categorized by department, project, and date. The knowledge base is updated regularly, and information is added as employees need it. Employees can access the information they need to complete tasks much more quickly through the knowledge base.