An admin turns a standard service user into a Knowledge Agent by enabling Knowledge, granting the Knowledge User feature license, and assigning a permission set with the right object and lifecycle permissions. Here is the path in Lightning Experience.
- Enable Lightning Knowledge
In Setup, open Knowledge Settings and turn on Lightning Knowledge. Note that once enabled it cannot be disabled, so confirm the org is ready. Salesforce Go can do this step and the next ones automatically for designated authors.
- Grant the Knowledge User license
On the user record (Setup, Users), select the Knowledge User checkbox, or assign a permission set that includes the Knowledge User feature license. Readers do not need this; only people who create or publish articles do.
- Build an authoring permission set
Create a permission set granting object permissions on Knowledge (Create, Read, Edit, and Delete as needed) plus the special Manage Articles permission. Add publish, archive, and submit-for-translation rights only for the senior authors who should have them.
- Set category group visibility and channels
Map data category groups to the permission set or profile so authors can see and tag the right categories. Confirm the channels (internal, communities, Public Knowledge Base) match the audiences the team will publish to.
- Assign and test
Assign the permission set to the user, then log in as them or use a sandbox to confirm they can draft, save, and (for reviewers) publish an article. Verify a reader without the license can view published articles but cannot author.
The gatekeeper for authoring. Without it a user can read articles but cannot create, edit, or publish them.
The special permission that turns on the authoring lifecycle, including access to archived versions and the draft-and-republish flow.
Lifecycle permissions worth restricting to reviewers, so customer-facing content passes through a check before going live.
Controls which categories an author can apply, which in turn controls who can read the resulting article.
- The feature license is separate from object permissions. Granting Edit on Knowledge without the Knowledge User license still blocks authoring.
- Lightning Knowledge cannot be turned off after you enable it, so pilot in a sandbox first.
- Without the Manage Articles permission, a user cannot see or restore archived versions, which breaks the rollback path.
- Publishing a fresh draft archives the prior published version immediately, so a half-finished edit can replace good content until someone republishes.