Contextual help
Definition
Contextual help is the practice of surfacing help content where and when it's needed, rather than requiring users to find help elsewhere. It encompasses tooltips, beacons, inline FAQs, in-product search, and self-help launchers — anything that resolves a user's confusion without asking them to leave the product. Contextual help is a superset of in-app guidance that emphasizes resolution at the point of need. While in-app guidance can include proactive education (announcements, onboarding flows), contextual help is reactive — it surfaces when the user is signaling confusion or actively looking for an answer.
Why it matters
Users don't read documentation. They certainly don't switch tabs to search a help portal mid-task. When confusion hits, most users either guess or give up. Contextual help meets users where they are — providing answers in-product, at the moment of need. Done well, it both improves user experience and deflects support tickets.
How it works
Effective contextual help combines: (1) tooltips and beacons for proactive hints; (2) in-product search across help content; (3) self-help launchers that give users a persistent way to ask for help; (4) deflection analytics — tracking which articles answer which questions, and where gaps drive tickets.