When Knowledge Becomes an Experience
- Anat Bielsky
- 50 minutes ago
- 10 min read
Knowledge experience is the practice of transforming organizational knowledge into clear, engaging, and actionable formats such as diagrams, videos, infographics, and interactive content. By matching the right format to users’ needs, organizations improve understanding, retention, and real-world application while making knowledge more accessible and valuable in everyday work.
In today’s organizational environment, knowledge is no longer consumed only through documents, procedures, long presentations or information repositories. Employees expect knowledge to be fast, clear, visual, accessible and, at times, interactive. For knowledge managers, this represents a significant shift in role. The work is no longer limited to organizing, classifying and making information accessible; it is about creating knowledge experiences that help people understand, remember and apply what they need.
Visualization is becoming one of the core capabilities of knowledge managers. It makes it possible to turn complex information into a clear picture, a complicated process into a simple diagram, a long procedure into a short video, and a professional document into an accessible learning experience. In the age of artificial intelligence, this capability is no longer reserved for designers, video editors or learning specialists. The knowledge manager can lead the process directly, from gathering the source materials, through content analysis and refinement, to the creation of infographics, images, videos and scripts. At first glance, most of us are already familiar with the visual possibilities and the new technological tools; in that sense, there is “nothing new” here. The real innovation, however, is not the mere existence of the tools, but the adoption of a new work mindset: as knowledge managers, our role is to examine systematically and intentionally which format is right for each organizational need, while considering classic knowledge-management factors such as cost versus benefit, update complexity and user experience.
Why visual representation matters so much in knowledge management
One of the central challenges of knowledge management is not only to preserve information, but to make sure people actually use it. Content that is not understood quickly often remains buried in repositories and has little impact on day-to-day work. Employees turn to AI simply because many existing organizational repositories feel too heavy and time-consuming for them, and one of their main uses of the technology is to summarize long documents and repackage content.
This is exactly where the visual advantage comes in: it shortens the distance between the existence of information and the employee’s understanding of what needs to be done. When a process is presented as a diagram, a procedural change is shown in a “before and after” format, or training is delivered through a short video, the employee does not need to decode a tedious document alone. The essence is delivered in a focused, clear and memorable way.
The shift: Before and after AI
In the past, creating a visual knowledge product was a complex process. The knowledge manager collected materials, wrote the content, transferred it to a designer or learning professional, and then waited for rounds of design, corrections, production and approval. Creating a training video or an organizational infographic could take weeks and sometimes required a dedicated budget.
We were also cautious about moving to several parallel formats, because producing the same content in multiple formats required expensive resources and tended to create many duplications. These duplications often led to contradictions and inconsistency across organizational knowledge.
Today, AI changes the equation entirely and creates a state of “Superagency”: a concept in which AI dramatically amplifies human agency, creativity and productivity. AI makes the production of visual content especially fast and inexpensive. At the same time, the main challenge in the current era has shifted to the smart management of those same duplications: we must ensure that every textual update or change in the source of knowledge is reflected in a synchronized and, where possible, automated way across the other visual formats as well, in order to prevent contradictions.
AI transforms the knowledge manager from someone who “operates and organizes knowledge” into a super-producer who can take a single knowledge source, such as a procedure, presentation or policy document, and translate it quickly into a wide range of products: infographics, videos and interactive guides.
This capability is based on the rapid move of AI tools toward multimodality. Leading models now work across text, image, voice and video at the same time, and can carry out multi-step reasoning, analysis and synchronization. As a result, the separation between content analysis and design is becoming much less rigid.
Everything can happen within one workflow:
Organizational knowledge source → analysis and summarization tools → visual translation and diagrams → packaging as a presentation or video → distribution to employees
The new knowledge manager’s toolbox: Key working formats
The following overview presents the main working formats in the new toolbox, alongside the central knowledge-management considerations, advantages and limitations of each format.
1. Organizing content and building the story
The first stage is to understand, organize and distill the source materials. Tools such as NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini make it possible to upload procedures, policy documents, presentations and training materials; identify key themes; build a knowledge map; generate questions and answers; and draft a clear, focused script. Their main advantage is the ability to turn long, complex and scattered material into a coherent story tailored to user needs within a short time. From a knowledge-management perspective, however, it is important to remember that automatic summarization does not replace professional judgment. Overreliance may lead to the omission of important nuances, exceptions, reservations or “small print” that exist in the source. These outputs should therefore be treated as a starting point for knowledge processing, not as a substitute for professional review of the content.
2. From text to a clear diagram
After the knowledge has been organized, a process text or policy document can be turned into a graphic illustration, idea map or step-by-step flowchart using tools such as Napkin AI and Miro AI. These tools can identify logical structures, links between stages and work processes, and present them in a clear and easy-to-understand visual format. Their main advantage is that they significantly shorten the path from idea to illustration and enable employees to grasp complex work processes at a glance. From a knowledge-management perspective, however, diagrams tend to become outdated quickly. Even a small change in an organizational work process can make the visual representation inaccurate. It is therefore important to ensure a clear link between the diagram and the updated source of knowledge, and to establish maintenance mechanisms that ensure every process change is reflected in the visual representation, so users are not confused or misled.
3. Images and a consistent visual language
At the stage of creating visual assets, tools such as Nano Banana, Midjourney, Adobe and Canva AI can be used to create realistic images and illustrations of professional situations from everyday organizational life, while maintaining a consistent visual language. These tools make it possible to illustrate complex situations, give a human face to organizational processes and create visual continuity across portals, presentations, guides and training videos. Their main advantage is the ability to create a stronger emotional connection with the user and make knowledge more attractive, accessible and inviting to consume. From a knowledge-management perspective, however, it is important to remember that images are not neutral. They may create subjective interpretations, communicate messages that do not match the original intent, or even shape mistaken perceptions of organizational processes and norms. In addition, excessive use of visual elements may create visual overload that does not contribute to the understanding of professional information. Visuals should therefore be selected carefully, ensuring that they serve the purpose of the knowledge, strengthen the message and do not distract from it.
4. Design, packaging and presentation
After the raw materials have been created, they need to be packaged into a designed final product ready for distribution. Tools such as Canva, Gamma, Beautiful.ai and Microsoft Copilot for PowerPoint make it possible to quickly turn text, images and diagrams into presentations, banners, landing pages and interactive pages, while adapting them to organizational branding and distribution channels. Their main advantage is production speed: they allow the shift from idea and content to a polished, professional and inviting final product within minutes, without advanced design skills. From a knowledge-management perspective, however, the ease with which products can now be created may lead to overproduction of presentations, information sheets and other visual outputs. Instead of improving access to knowledge, this can increase information overload and make it harder for employees to identify what really matters. The role of the knowledge manager is therefore not only to enable rapid creation, but also to exercise judgment in choosing the right format, reduce duplication and ensure that every new product adds real value for the user rather than simply increasing the amount of content in the organization.
5. From script and image to training video
Once the content and visual assets have been developed, they can be turned into a full training video using tools such as HeyGen, Synthesia, Microsoft Clipchamp and Veed.io. These tools make it possible to create videos that include avatars, narration, subtitles and additional visual elements, without a studio, professional narrator or advanced video-editing expertise. Their main advantage is that video is one of the most effective and memorable formats for conveying knowledge, especially when explaining process changes, new procedures or professional messages to employees in the field. The combination of voice, image and movement helps increase engagement, understanding and retention. From a knowledge-management perspective, however, videos create a significant maintenance and updating challenge. While a sentence, data point or single clause can be easily updated in a text document, a similar change in a video usually requires recreating and rendering the entire product or significant parts of it. Therefore, before choosing video as the primary knowledge format, it is important to assess how frequently the content is expected to change and how important ongoing currency is. In cases where knowledge changes often, it may be better to combine the video with an updated textual knowledge source that serves as the authoritative version.
How to choose the right format
The ability to create a wide range of knowledge formats does not release the knowledge manager from the need to exercise professional judgment. On the contrary, as the number of options grows, the importance of making an informed choice becomes even greater. The question is not which format can be created, but which format will best help the employee understand, remember and act.
When choosing the format, it is useful to ask several guiding questions:
Does the user mainly need to understand the topic, or to perform an action?
Is this stable knowledge, or information that changes frequently?
Is depth and broader context required, or only quick orientation?
Is this a one-time learning need, or information the employee will return to repeatedly?
Will the knowledge be consumed at a desk, or in the field in real time?
Is the goal to transfer knowledge, support task execution, drive action or create awareness?
What effort will be required to update and maintain the format over time?
The answers to these questions will help determine whether it is better to use a document, diagram, infographic, video, chatbot or a combination of formats. In many cases, there is no single right format, but rather a set of complementary formats that together create a more effective knowledge experience. The knowledge manager’s role is to design this combination intentionally, so that the format serves the user and helps them achieve optimal understanding and performance.
Practical organizational uses
Onboarding new employees: Procedures and guides can be transformed into introductory videos, process maps and infographics that explain how things work in the organization.
Process changes: Differences between the old and new process can be presented through a visual diagram, a before-and-after image or a short video.
Preserving expert knowledge: Expert interviews, knowledge summaries or professional documents can be transformed into videos, question-and-answer repositories and visual content.
Professional communities: Meeting summaries, field insights or professional discussions can be turned into a short visual summary that can be shared with the community.
Knowledge portals: Realistic images, icons, banners, infographics and videos can be integrated to transform the portal from an information window into a clear and inviting knowledge experience.
Responsibility, control and governance: From knowledge manager to experience curator
Alongside the enormous opportunity that AI offers in creating visual products, it also brings significant responsibility. When AI generates an image, infographic or video, mistakes can look highly credible because of the authority that visual products convey. An incorrect visual product may spread faster than an incorrect text, because it looks clear, professional and convincing.
In addition, there is a risk of sensitive organizational information leakage and privacy violations, especially when employees upload internal documents or data to public tools without oversight. Therefore, the use of AI tools for creating visual products must be accompanied by clear governance rules: secure work environments, rigorous validation of outputs against the source of knowledge and meaningful human involvement.
In this sense, the traditional image of the knowledge manager is changing. The role is no longer that of a strict, technical gatekeeper who blocks or approves publications. A more suitable image for the visual era is that of a curator in an exhibition. Like a curator, the knowledge manager carefully selects the items, connects them, builds context around them and makes them accessible to the audience in a harmonious and engaging way. The knowledge manager does not merely organize information; they design the space and enable people to encounter knowledge not as dry data, but as a smart, thought-provoking and intuitive experience of understanding. The final product must be not only beautiful and clear, but first and foremost accurate, responsible, safe and inspiring to use.
The future of knowledge management is multi-format
A single knowledge source can be translated simultaneously into a wide range of outputs: an article, presentation, infographic, video, chatbot, podcast or visual guide. This capability changes the value that knowledge managers bring to the organization, because it makes it possible to adapt the same knowledge to different audiences, needs and consumption habits.
In the past, the knowledge manager focused mainly on the questions: Where is the knowledge stored, and how can people find it? Today, in the age of Superagency, the knowledge manager must ask broader questions: How will the employee experience the knowledge? In which format will they understand it fastest? Which product will help them act correctly? And how can AI help us transform existing information into an experience that is useful, reliable, safe and impactful?
Technology does not replace the knowledge manager; on the contrary, it increases their influence. It enables them to move from the role of archivist and information organizer to the role of knowledge-experience producer, organizational storyteller and connector between content, technology and people. The knowledge manager is the curator who guides the tools, defines the purpose of the product, chooses the right format, verifies accuracy and reliability, and ensures that knowledge reaches employees in a way that enables them to understand, remember and apply it.
In the new era, the most important knowledge will not necessarily be the knowledge that is written at greatest length or stored in the most orderly way, but the knowledge that is understood fastest, remembered over time and leads to the right action.
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