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Back to Learn
KnowledgeLayer 3Classification & Understanding

Awareness Level Detection

Your help system gives the same answer to everyone.

The new hire gets the same explanation as the 10-year veteran.

One leaves confused. The other leaves annoyed.

Same question. Different knowledge levels. Needs a different answer.

9 min read
intermediate
Relevant If You're
Building systems that explain things to different people
Creating internal knowledge tools for mixed-experience teams
Designing support or training systems

INTERMEDIATE - Builds on classification to personalize every interaction.

Where This Sits

Category 3.1: Classification & Understanding

3
Layer 3

Understanding & Analysis

Intent ClassificationSentiment AnalysisEntity ExtractionTopic DetectionComplexity ScoringUrgency DetectionAwareness Level Detection
Explore all of Layer 3
What It Is

Figuring out what someone already knows before you explain

When a new hire asks 'how do I process a refund?' they need the full walkthrough. Step by step. Every detail. When a senior team member asks the same question, they just forgot which button to click. Same question, completely different needs.

Awareness level detection reads the signals: the words they use, the context they provide, what they've asked before. It categorizes the person as a beginner, intermediate, or expert on this particular topic. Not globally. Topic by topic.

This isn't about being condescending to beginners or cryptic to experts. It's about respecting everyone's time. The beginner gets the foundation they need. The expert gets straight to the answer.

Get it wrong and beginners feel lost while experts feel patronized. Get it right and everyone gets exactly what they need.

The Lego Block Principle

Awareness detection solves a universal problem: how do you give the right amount of detail when different people need different depths?

The core pattern:

Assess the knowledge level first. Then calibrate the response. The same information gets packaged differently based on who is receiving it.

Where else this applies:

Onboarding docs - Different paths for different experience levels.
Support responses - Technical depth adjusted to the requester.
Training materials - Skip-ahead options for experienced learners.
Meeting briefs - Executive summary vs. deep dive versions.
Try It

See awareness detection in action

Click on any of these sample messages to see how the system detects knowledge level from the way someone asks.

Sample Messages

Detection Result

Click a message to analyze

How It Works

Three signals that reveal knowledge level

Vocabulary Analysis

What words do they use?

Beginners say 'the thing that sends emails automatically.' Experts say 'the SMTP trigger.' The terminology someone uses reveals how much they already know. Detecting jargon vs. plain language is the first signal.

Strength

Works from the very first message

Limitation

Can misjudge if someone uses borrowed terminology

Context Depth

How much do they already explain?

Beginners ask 'how do I do X?' Experts ask 'when I tried X with Y configuration, I got Z error.' The amount of context someone provides shows their familiarity. More specific context means more expertise.

Strength

Highly accurate for technical topics

Limitation

Talkative beginners can look like experts

Interaction History

What have they asked before?

If they asked five beginner questions last week, they probably still need beginner-level answers this week. If they've never asked about a topic before, start at the foundation regardless of their general expertise.

Strength

Gets more accurate over time

Limitation

Requires session or user tracking

Connection Explorer

How awareness detection connects to personalized responses

Awareness detection sits between understanding what someone asked and crafting the right response. It takes the classified intent and adds the context of who is asking.

Hover over any component to see what it does and why it's neededTap any component to see what it does and why it's needed

Intent Classification
Entity Extraction
Awareness Level Detection
You Are Here
Response Length Control
Prompt Templating
Personalized Response
Outcome
React Flow
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Intelligence
Understanding
Outcome

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Upstream (Requires)

Intent ClassificationEntity Extraction

Downstream (Enables)

Response Length ControlPrompt Templating
Common Mistakes

What breaks when awareness detection goes wrong

Don't assume one expertise level applies everywhere

Someone might be an expert at your core process but a complete beginner at the new tool you just added. Treating them as a 'general expert' means they'll get cryptic instructions for something they've never seen.

Instead: Assess awareness topic by topic, not person by person.

Don't use vocabulary alone as the only signal

A new team member might have picked up jargon from their previous job without understanding what it means in your context. Matching terminology doesn't mean matching understanding.

Instead: Combine vocabulary with context depth and ask clarifying questions when signals conflict.

Don't make it impossible to change levels mid-conversation

Someone starts as a beginner but learns fast. If your system keeps giving them beginner explanations after they've clearly progressed, they'll get frustrated.

Instead: Let users escalate or simplify explicitly, and watch for signals they need a different level.

Next Steps

Now that you understand awareness level detection

You've learned how to assess what someone already knows before responding. The natural next step is using that assessment to actually personalize the response.

Recommended Next

Response Length Control

How to adjust response depth based on what you know about the user