Setting up Data Categories for articles means creating a Data Category Group, adding the category values inside it, then assigning the group to Knowledge and granting visibility. You do this in Setup before authors can tag articles.
- Create the Data Category Group
In Setup, search for Data Category Setup and create a new group. Give it a name that names the dimension you classify along, such as Products or Regions. New groups start inactive.
- Add and arrange categories
Open the group and add categories. Use the actions on each category to add children and build the tree. Keep it to two or three levels and a manageable number of values so it stays browseable.
- Activate and assign the group
Activate the group, then assign it to Knowledge so articles can use it. Until the group is active and assigned, authors will not see it in the Data Categories panel.
- Set Data Category Visibility
Open Data Category Visibility Settings and choose All, None, or Custom for each role, profile, or permission set. Use Custom to expose only the branches a given audience should see, and confirm the default visibility too.
- Tag and verify
Edit a Knowledge article, pick categories in the Data Categories panel, and publish. Browse the Knowledge tab or your Experience Cloud site as a test user to confirm the article appears under the right branch.
The label for the Data Category Group; it should name the single dimension the group classifies along, like Products or Regions.
A group must be active and assigned to Knowledge before its categories appear to authors; new groups start inactive.
Per role, profile, or permission set, this controls which category branches a user can see, and therefore which articles surface for them.
The fallback visibility applied to users without an explicit role-based assignment for the group.
- A group does nothing until it is active and assigned to Knowledge; a new inactive group is invisible to authors.
- Category visibility stacks with object access. A user needs read on the article and visibility on its categories before it appears.
- Default limits are 100 categories per group and 5 hierarchy levels; raising them needs a request to Salesforce, but deep trees usually hurt usability.
- Topics carry no visibility rules, so never use them to hide sensitive content. Use a Data Category when access depends on the classification.