Document Search

Search and analyze uploaded documents using AI-powered text extraction.

Document search lets you work with uploaded files directly in your conversations. When you attach documents, the AI can extract text, search for specific information, and answer questions based on the actual content.

How to add documents

You can add documents to a chat in several ways:

1. Upload directly: Click the + button and select Add files, or drag and drop files into the chat
2. From integrations: Click the + button, then choose a connected service such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or SharePoint. If none of those integrations are connected, the menu shows Select file. Learn how to set up integrations.
3. Paste from clipboard: Paste files directly into the chat input

Click an image attachment in the chat input to open and review it before sending. Click a supported document attachment to open a preview you cannot edit.

After you send a message, click a file card to open its preview. A blue ring marks the card for the file that is currently open in the side panel. You can also move eligible files into a Folder directly from the file card.

How document search works

When you attach a document, ajan automatically processes it:

1. Text extraction - Content is extracted from your files (PDFs, Word docs, presentations, etc.)
2. Full read - The AI reads the extracted text, page by page for long documents
3. Context injection - Relevant content is sent to the AI along with your prompt

In a chat, directly attached files are read in full as text. If you have a large document collection where the AI should only pull out the passages relevant to your question, use a Knowledge base.

Read modes

The AI reads attached documents in three different ways:

Viewing specific pages

For documents where layout matters (PDFs, Word documents, and PowerPoint files with figures, tables, or diagrams), the model can view pages as visual screenshots. When you upload:

• Shorter documents: All pages are automatically captured as screenshots
• Longer documents: A selection of pages from the beginning, middle, and end are captured initially

You can ask the model to view additional pages on demand using the page viewer. This is especially useful when:

• The document contains figures or charts
• You need to see table formatting
• You ask the model to "look at" or "check" a specific part

Supported file types

ajan supports PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoints, spreadsheets, images, and more. For the complete list with size limits, see supported file types.

Use cases

Summarization

• "Summarize the key points from this report"
• "Give me a one-paragraph summary of each attached document"

Question answering

• "What are the payment terms in this contract?"
• "According to this research paper, what were the main findings?"

Analysis and comparison

• "Compare the pricing across these three proposals"
• "What are the differences between these two policy documents?"

Extraction

• "Extract all dates and deadlines mentioned in this document"
• "List all the people mentioned in these meeting notes"

Limitations

Current limitations:

• Complex table structures may not extract accurately
• Images and graphs embedded in documents aren't extracted during text processing, but you can ask the model to view them via the page viewer which displays page screenshots
• Handwritten text or scanned documents with poor OCR quality may have extraction errors
• Password-protected files cannot be processed

Best practices

Working with multiple documents:

• In the web app, you can attach up to 50 files to one message. On mobile, you can attach up to 5 files to one message.
• Name your files descriptively so the AI can reference them clearly
• When comparing documents, explicitly state which documents to compare

For integration files:

• Ensure you have an active connection to the service
• The AI will prompt you to connect if access is needed
• File permissions from the source service are respected

FAQ

Use Document Search for documents uploaded or attached for the current task. Use a Knowledge base when the same document collection should be reusable across chats, agents, workflows, or API usage.

The file may not have processed correctly, the content may use wording different from the query, or the relevant section may not have been retrieved. Try a more specific question, reference the document name or section, and confirm the file type is supported.