Skill Template: Acronym Handling

Use this template to configure a Guru Knowledge Agent skill that correctly handles acronyms during search and retrieval. When an employee asks a question containing an acronym, this skill looks it up in a dedicated Acronym Library card, expands it to the full term, and uses that full term as the basis for finding an answer — preventing missed results caused by acronym mismatches.

Copy the skill description and instructions below into your Knowledge Agent's skill configuration. Replace all [bracketed sections] with details specific to your team or use case.

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Tip

This template is designed to provide a foundation for further customization and iteration. It is not intended to be an out-of-the-box solution. Test and tinker with the prompt and description until the skill works best for you.

Best Practices for Acronym-Heavy Organizations

For this skill to work well, your knowledge base needs to be set up to support it. Follow these steps to get the most out of acronym handling in Guru:

1. Build your Acronym Library card. Start a conversation with your Knowledge Agent and ask it to help you create a dedicated "Acronym and Abbreviation Library" card. Structure the card as a two-column table with the acronym in one column and its full definition in the other. This card becomes the single source of truth your skill will reference.
2. Set up this acronym-handling skill. Configure the skill below in your Knowledge Agent. Once active, the agent will automatically look up any acronym it encounters in your Acronym Library before searching — so employees get accurate results whether they search by acronym or by full term.
3. Connect your other skills to this one. For any other skills in your Knowledge Agent, add a step that tells the agent to always check the acronym-handling skill. You can use language like: "ALWAYS use the acronym-handling skill to search for matching acronyms or phrases from the requestor before proceeding." This ensures consistent acronym resolution across every skill in your agent.
4. Audit and update your existing content. Use your Knowledge Agent (try asking it to "research" for a more in-depth output) to identify cards that contain either the acronym or the full term — but not both. Then ask it to update those cards so each term always appears alongside the other (for example: "Statement of Work (SOW)" in the title or at first use in the body). This helps both employees and the agent find the right content regardless of how they search — whether through chat, keyword search, or browsing. Going forward, make it a standard practice to always include both forms whenever a new term is introduced in a card.

Skill Description

This skill ensures the correct retrieval of information when a question contains an acronym. Trigger this skill whenever a user's question includes an acronym of any kind — whether it's a business term, internal team name, process abbreviation, or industry shorthand. When triggered, the skill looks up the acronym in the connected Acronym Library card, expands it to its full term, and uses that full term as the basis for searching and responding.

Skill Instructions

Use the card titled 'Acronym and Abbreviation Library' as your acronym reference. When a user's question contains an acronym, look it up in that card and expand it to the full term before searching for an answer. Use the full term — not the acronym — as the basis for your search. If the acronym appears in your response, include the full term in parentheses on first use (e.g., ["SOW (Statement of Work)" INSERT APPLICABLE TERM + ACRONYM]).
 
If an acronym appears in the user's question but cannot be found in the Acronym Library, or if the same acronym maps to multiple different terms, do not guess. Instead, ask the user to clarify what the acronym stands for before proceeding.