Guru Knowledge Base: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives
Are you thinking about using Guru to store and share information within your company? This blog is your one-stop guide!
Guru is a cloud-based knowledge management platform designed to centralize and organize a company's internal information and resources. As an internal wiki tool, Guru aims to facilitate employees' access to the knowledge they need to do their jobs effectively.
While Guru can be a useful tool for managing a company's internal knowledge base, it may not be the best solution for every organization. For example, Guru is primarily designed for internal use, so it may not have the capabilities to build an effective self-service help center for customers.
This blog post will examine both the pros and cons of using Guru, as well as explore some alternative knowledge management platforms that may be better suited for certain business needs.
What is Guru Knowledge Base?
Guru is a company wiki tool designed to make information easily accessible for your employees. It aims to integrate knowledge management into your workflow so employees can quickly find the information they need without switching between different apps.
This can be helpful for onboarding new hires, keeping communication smooth within your company, and boosting collaboration between virtual teams.
How Much Does Guru Cost?
Guru offers three pricing plans, each suited for different team sizes and needs. Here's a breakdown:
Free/Starter: Ideal for small teams (up to 3 users). It's free and includes features like a browser extension, Slack and Microsoft Teams apps, and the ability to schedule content verification. If you need more than three users, you'll pay either $6 per user per month or $5 per user per year (billed annually).
Builder: Perfect for growing teams. It costs $12 per user per month or $10 per user per year (billed annually). It includes everything in the Free/Starter plan, plus some extras like advanced permissions, announcements, data analytics, and the ability to spot duplicate content.
Enterprise: Tailored for large organizations. Pricing isn't listed, so you must contact Guru's sales team for a custom quote. This plan offers the most flexibility, allowing you to pick and choose the specific features you need.
Also read Knowledge Base Software 2024 Showdown: Pros, Cons, and Must-Knows
Pros of Guru Knowledge Base
Here are 5 pros of Guru rewritten to be easily understandable:
Fast and Helpful for Customer Support
Guru makes it easy for customer support agents to find answers to customer questions. It has features like a help icon for new information and a Chrome extension for faster resolutions.
Smart Search Saves Time
Guru prioritizes your area of expertise and gives you search results that are most relevant to what you're working on. This saves you time searching through unrelated information.
Simple and Accessible
Guru is easy to use from anywhere with their Chrome extension. You can create simple notes, access them anywhere, and even format them with images and HTML.
Organized and Team-Friendly
Guru keeps information organized and easy to find. You can categorize and save frequently used information for quick access. It's also great for teams because you can tag and update team members on information changes, and everyone can access it through the Guru app.
Boosts Knowledge Sharing
Guru makes it easy to create and share knowledge. You can record information for yourself or share tutorials with others. It even lets you verify information with teammates and set reminders to keep things up-to-date.
Cons of Guru Knowledge Base
Here are 5 cons of Guru rewritten to be easily understandable, with more information:
Limited Features and Customization
Guru can feel limited at times. You can't open and view multiple information cards at once, which can slow you down if you need to compare information. Text formatting in cards can be tricky and doesn't offer as much customization as some users would like.
For example, you might want to highlight important changes with different colours or fonts, but Guru's options might be limited.
Browser Compatibility Issues
While Guru works well with Chrome, it may not function as smoothly with other browsers like Firefox. There have been reports of the website not loading properly, which can be frustrating if you rely on Firefox for work.
Limited Integrations
Guru integrates well with Slack, a popular communication platform. However, its connection with Microsoft Teams, another widely used tool, is not as strong. Additionally, Guru lacks plugins for commonly used applications like Outlook (email) and Firefox (web browser). This can make switching between Guru and other tools cumbersome.
Limited Permissions and Search
When creating information cards, you can only choose between two permission levels: public or accessible to the team creating them. This might not be ideal if you have different departments or user groups within your company.
There's also no search function for everyone to find cards unless they're part of the creating team. This can make it difficult for new employees or those unfamiliar with Guru to find the information they need.
Limited Project Management Integration
Guru doesn't directly connect with popular project management systems like Prompteam or Monday.com. This can lead to duplicate work if you use both platforms. Imagine updating the same information in both Guru and your project management tool – it can be a waste of time.
Guru Knowledge Base Alternatives
While Guru offers a solid solution for knowledge management, it might be a better fit for your team's specific needs.
Let's explore some compelling alternatives to Guru, each boasting unique strengths that can enhance knowledge sharing and empower your team's productivity.
Frequentli.ai
Is Guru leaving your customer support team swamped with the same questions over and over?
Customer support teams are often overwhelmed with repetitive inquiries that could be easily handled through self-service.
This is where Frequentli shines as a compelling alternative to traditional knowledge bases like Guru.
Frequentli.ai is a cutting-edge AI-powered customer support tool designed to provide a smooth self-service experience for your customers. Unlike Guru's search-based approach, it utilizes advanced AI to understand customer intent and deliver accurate answers.
One of Frequentli.ai's key benefits is its ability to increase customer support team efficiency utilizing the power of Generative AI. Frequentli.ai frees your agents to focus on more complex issues by deflecting simple, repetitive inquiries. Frequentli.ai also offers a highly user-friendly interface that seamlessly integrates with your website.
This level of customization, which is often lacking in Guru, ensures a consistent and on-brand interaction for your customers.
Here's a quick comparison of Frequentli vs. Guru:
Start with a Free Plan!
Frequentli offers a free plan that is ideal for small businesses. Join the waitlist and empower your customers with self-service while your support team thrives on tackling more complex issues.
Bloomfire
If you're looking for a Guru alternative that emphasizes knowledge sharing and collaboration, Bloomfire might be a great fit. Bloomfire goes beyond just storing information. It helps your team use its collective knowledge by creating a central space to share and collaborate. This can be especially helpful for growing teams where knowledge might be scattered across different individuals.
Bloomfire makes it easy for everyone in your company, from customer support to marketing, to access the information they need to make data-driven decisions. This can improve customer experiences, increase employee productivity, and better business outcomes.
Bloomfire's AI-powered search makes finding the right information quick and easy. Compared to Guru's search functionality, which some users find limiting, this can save your team valuable time.
Here's a quick comparison of Bloomfire vs. Guru:
While Bloomfire doesn't offer some of Guru's features, like public knowledge base support or extensive customization options, it makes up for it in its focus on collaboration and ease of use. Bloomfire's built-in analytics can also help you understand your team's knowledge gaps and optimize your knowledge base.
GrooveHQ
GrooveHQ offers a comprehensive customer support suite that includes a knowledge base alongside ticketing, automation, and agent tools. It's ideal for teams looking for a unified platform to manage all aspects of customer support.
If your primary goal is to improve customer self-service and agent productivity, GrooveHQ might be a better fit. Guru might be a better choice if you prioritize internal knowledge management and collaboration across different teams within your company.
Here's a quick comparison of GrooveHQ vs. Guru:
Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a comprehensive customer support solution that offers a knowledge base, help desk, and chat features, allowing you to engage customers across various channels. It caters to both agents and managers: agents love its ability to automate workflows and resolve issues efficiently, while managers appreciate the powerful analytics, self-service options, and automation tools that optimize support delivery.
Freshdesk provides a well-rounded solution for improving customer experience, agent productivity, and overall support effectiveness.
Here's a quick comparison of Freshdesk vs. Guru:
HelpCrunch
HelpCrunch offers a compelling alternative to Guru's internal knowledge base by focusing on streamlining all aspects of customer communication. This cloud-based platform combines a knowledge base, live chat, email marketing, and help desk features, allowing you to connect with customers across various channels.
HelpCrunch shines for a unified platform so you can manage customer interactions (support requests, lead nurturing) from a single platform, boosting team efficiency. Its simple interface and hassle-free data migration make it user-friendly for both agents and customers.
Here's a quick comparison of HelpCrunch vs. Guru:
HelpCrunch is a great choice for teams looking for a unified platform to manage all customer interactions, including self-service through a knowledge base. Meanwhile, Guru is a better fit if your primary focus is internal knowledge sharing and collaboration across different teams within your company.
In Conclusion
Guru offers a solid solution for internal knowledge management, but it might not be the perfect fit for everyone. This blog explored several compelling alternatives, each with unique strengths:
Bloomfire: Prioritizes collaboration and knowledge sharing for growing teams.
Frequentli.ai: Leverages AI to automate customer support through self-service.
GrooveHQ: Provides an all-in-one platform for customer support, including a knowledge base.
Freshdesk: Offers a comprehensive customer support suite with powerful analytics and automation.
HelpCrunch: Streamlines customer communication with a unified platform for knowledge base, chat, email, and help desk.
By considering the pros, cons, and feature sets of each option, you can choose the knowledge base tool that best aligns with your specific needs and budget. Remember, the ideal solution should empower your team to share knowledge effectively, improve collaboration, and ultimately achieve your business goals.
