Knowledge Base
Reviewing article version and approval controls
Check draft isolation, approval states, publish rights and restore behaviour before relying on knowledge base version controls.
Follow one correction from draft to publication, then check how the team would recover from a mistake. Establish which version readers see, who can change it, who can publish it and what can be restored. Revision history alone does not require approval.
Trace a change to a live article
Use a harmless correction in a suitable test setting. Record what readers see while an editor works, whether the change creates a separate draft, and which action makes it live. Check whether a reviewer sees the exact text intended for publication and what happens if someone edits it after approval.
| Control | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Version boundary | Can an update be saved without replacing the published text? |
| Review state | Does an edit reset or change the review state? |
| Publish permission | Can someone publish before approval? |
| History | Which drafts, published versions and changes are visible, and to whom? |
| Recovery | Does restore create a draft or prepare older text for publication? |
Article Version Lifecycle: From Draft to Publication and Recovery
- Draft Created
- Editor begins editing a live article; changes saved as draft (Intercom, Freshdesk)
- In Review
- Submitted for approval; review state active (Zendesk Team Publishing, Freshdesk)
- Approved
- Reviewer confirms content; article ready for publication (Freshdesk, Intercom)
- Published
- Live version visible to customers; previous versions retained (Help Scout, Zendesk)
- Restoration Requested
- Older version restored; becomes current published version (Zendesk, Intercom)
Check the documented product limits
Zendesk saves a new article version each time an article is saved. Regular agents and Knowledge admins can inspect revisions; light agents cannot.
On non-Enterprise plans, drafts are for new articles, not changes to published ones. Enterprise Team Publishing can stage an update to a live article. Saving a change to an article awaiting review returns it to work in progress.
A user with the relevant management permission can publish an article in the ready-for-review state, so review states alone do not guarantee a separate approval.
Restoring a previous version makes that version the current published version. If it contains a content block, restoration unlinks the block and inserts its content into the article.
Freshdesk documents an approval workflow for its knowledge base. Its states include Draft, In Review, Approved and Published. Editing an approved article returns it to Draft.
A user with direct Publish access can publish from Draft; a user with Publish after approved access must wait for Approved status. The permission grant determines whether approval is required. Freshdesk notes that if you signed up before December 2025, your Freshdesk Omni experience may differ.
Intercom public articles can keep a published version live while changes are saved as a draft. Previous article versions do not expire, even if the original author has been removed; saved draft versions remain in the article's version history and can be restored by any teammate.
Intercom internal articles have no Save as draft option; saved changes become available to teammates in Knowledge and to Copilot when enabled. New internal articles are enabled for Copilot by default.
By default, all Help Scout users can edit, publish and delete articles. Account Owners and Administrators can change the permission settings to restrict this access.
Approval Workflow Differences Across Knowledge Platforms
- Zendesk (Enterprise)Supports staged updates to live articles; edits return to 'Work in Progress' after review
- FreshdeskStates: Draft → In Review → Approved → Published; editing approved article returns to Draft
- Intercom (Public Articles)Published version remains live while changes are saved as draft; no expiry of old versions
- Intercom (Internal Articles)No 'Save as draft' option; changes immediately available to teammates and Copilot
- Help ScoutAll users can edit, publish, delete by default; permissions can be restricted by Admins
Key Version Control Statistics Across Platforms
- Version History Retention
- Indefinite (Intercom, Help Scout)
- Draft Access Limitation
- Light agents cannot view revisions (Zendesk)
- Publish Permission Flexibility
- Users with 'Publish' access can bypass approval (Freshdesk, Zendesk)
- Restore Behaviour
- Restored version becomes current published version (Zendesk, Intercom)
Plan recovery as well as approval
Keep the earlier wording, proposed correction, reviewer and publication decision in the team's change record. After publication, check the customer article and any staff version or connected answer tool that uses it. An older version may itself contain outdated details, so decide whether restoration or a fresh correction is appropriate.
Have the intended editor, reviewer and publisher follow the same change using their assigned permissions. Record any publish bypass, loss of draft isolation or restore side effect before relying on the workflow.
Pros and Cons of Using Approval Workflows in Knowledge Bases
- ProsEnsures content accuracy; maintains accountability; prevents premature publishing
- ConsCan delay updates; risk of bypass if permissions are misconfigured; restoration may reintroduce outdated content
