Research - AI Search

Your intelligent research assistant

Overview

Research is the AI-powered search and discovery app in General Bots Suite. Find information from the web, your documents, and databases using natural language. Research understands your questions, finds relevant sources, and presents organized answers with citations.

Features

Basic Search

Just type your question in natural language:

Example Questions:

Search Sources

Choose where to search:

AI-Powered Answers

Research doesn’t just find links—it reads, understands, and summarizes:

Follow-Up Questions

Continue your research with follow-up questions:

Source Citations

Every answer includes citations so you can verify:

Actions available:

• View Document - Open the source file
• Open Link - Navigate to web source
• Copy Citation - Copy formatted citation

Research History

Access your previous searches:

1. Click History in the top right
2. Browse or search past queries
3. Click to revisit any search

History is organized by:

• Today - Recent searches
• Yesterday - Previous day
• Last Week - Older searches

Export Results

Save your research for later use:

Export Options:

• Include answer
• Include sources with citations
• Include search query
• Include timestamp

Advanced Search

Use operators for more precise searches:

Examples:

"quarterly report" AND sales date:2025 - Finds documents with exact phrase “quarterly report” AND the word “sales” from 2025

project proposal NOT draft type:pdf - Finds PDF files about project proposals, excluding drafts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Tips & Tricks

Better Search Results

💡 Be specific - “Q1 2025 sales revenue by region” works better than “sales”

💡 Use natural language - Ask questions like you would ask a colleague

💡 Try different phrasings - If results aren’t great, rephrase your question

💡 Use follow-ups - Build on previous searches for deeper research

Finding Documents

💡 Mention the document type - “Find the PDF about vacation policy”

💡 Reference dates - “Meeting notes from last Tuesday”

💡 Name departments - “HR policies about sick leave”

Web Research

💡 Be current - Add “2025” or “latest” for recent information

💡 Compare sources - Research shows multiple sources for verification

💡 Check citations - Click through to verify important information

Troubleshooting

No results found

Possible causes:

1. Query too specific
2. Information not in knowledge base
3. Typo in search terms

Solution:

1. Try broader search terms
2. Search “All” sources instead of one
3. Check spelling
4. Try different phrasing
5. Upload relevant documents to knowledge base

Wrong or irrelevant results

Possible causes:

1. Ambiguous query
2. Outdated documents in KB
3. Source selection too broad

Solution:

1. Be more specific in your question
2. Use quotes for exact phrases
3. Select specific source (Documents only, Web only)
4. Use advanced operators

Sources not loading

Possible causes:

1. Document was moved or deleted
2. Web page no longer available
3. Permission issues

Solution:

1. Check if document exists in Drive
2. Try opening the web link directly
3. Ask administrator about permissions
4. Use cached/saved version if available

Search is slow

Possible causes:

1. Searching many sources
2. Large knowledge base
3. Complex query

Solution:

1. Select specific source instead of “All”
2. Be more specific to narrow results
3. Wait for indexing to complete (if recent uploads)
4. Check network connection

AI answer seems incorrect

Possible causes:

1. Outdated information in sources
2. AI misinterpreted question
3. Conflicting information in sources

Solution:

1. Always verify with cited sources
2. Rephrase your question
3. Ask for clarification: “Are you sure about X?”
4. Check multiple sources for accuracy

BASIC Integration

Use Research in your bot dialogs:

Basic Search

HEAR question AS TEXT "What would you like to know?"

result = SEARCH question

TALK result.answer

TALK "Sources:"
FOR EACH source IN result.sources
    TALK "- " + source.title
NEXT

Search Specific Sources

' Search only documents
result = SEARCH "vacation policy" IN "documents"

' Search only web
result = SEARCH "latest AI news" IN "web"

' Search specific knowledge base
result = SEARCH "product specs" IN "products.gbkb"

Research with Follow-up

TALK "What would you like to research?"
HEAR topic AS TEXT

result = SEARCH topic
TALK result.answer

HEAR followUp AS TEXT "Any follow-up questions? (or 'done')"

WHILE followUp <> "done"
    result = SEARCH followUp WITH CONTEXT result
    TALK result.answer
    HEAR followUp AS TEXT "Any more questions? (or 'done')"
WEND

TALK "Research complete!"

Export Research

HEAR query AS TEXT "What should I research?"

result = SEARCH query

' Export as PDF
pdf = EXPORT RESEARCH result AS "PDF"
SEND FILE pdf

' Or copy to Paper
doc = CREATE DOCUMENT "Research: " + query
doc.content = result.answer + "\n\nSources:\n" + result.citations
SAVE DOCUMENT doc

TALK "Research saved to Paper"

Automated Research Report

topics = ["market trends", "competitor analysis", "customer feedback"]

report = ""
FOR EACH topic IN topics
    result = SEARCH topic + " 2025"
    report = report + "## " + topic + "\n\n"
    report = report + result.answer + "\n\n"
NEXT

doc = CREATE DOCUMENT "Weekly Research Report"
doc.content = report
SAVE DOCUMENT doc

TALK "Research report created with " + COUNT(topics) + " topics"

See Also

• Paper App - Write documents based on your research
• Drive App - Upload documents to knowledge base
• Chat App - Ask quick questions
• How To: Add Documents to Knowledge Base