Ask & Chat

The Ask page is the heart of ZenSearch - your primary interface for searching, chatting, and getting answers from your connected data sources.

Overview

The Ask interface combines powerful search with conversational AI, allowing you to:

• Ask questions in natural language
• Get AI-generated answers with citations
• Browse traditional search results
• Have multi-turn conversations
• Use AI agents for complex research

Interface Layout

Conversation Sidebar

The left sidebar manages your conversations:

• New Conversation: Start a fresh chat session
• Conversation List: Access previous conversations
• Timestamps: See when each conversation occurred
• Delete: Remove conversations you no longer need

The sidebar is collapsible and resizable to suit your preferences.

Main Content Area

The central area displays:

• Chat Mode: Messages with AI responses and citations
• Search Mode: Traditional search results with previews
• Agent Steps: Visual progress for agent tasks

Sources Panel

The right panel shows:

• Documents cited in the current response
• Relevance scores and coverage information
• Click any source to view the full document

Search Input

At the bottom:

• Multi-line text input for questions
• File upload button for attaching documents
• Send button with loading states
• Cancel button during streaming

Chat Mode

Starting a Conversation

1. Type your question in the input field
2. Press Enter or click Send
3. Watch as ZenSearch streams the response

Response Components

Each response includes:

• Answer Text: AI-generated content
• Inline Citations: Numbered references like [1], [2]
• Source Cards: Expandable document previews
• Metadata: Model used, token count

Following Up

Continue conversations naturally:

You: What is our refund policy?
AI: Our refund policy allows returns within 30 days... [1]

You: What about digital products?
AI: Digital products have a modified policy... [2]

You: Can you summarize both in a table?
AI: Here's a comparison table...

Regenerating Responses

If an answer isn't helpful:

1. Click the Regenerate button
2. ZenSearch will search again and generate a new response
3. Compare different responses as needed

Search Mode

Switching to Search

Click the Search toggle to switch modes. Search mode provides:

• Traditional document results
• Relevance scores
• Preview snippets
• Faceted filtering

Faceted Search

Filter results using the sidebar:

Topics

Auto-extracted categories from your content:

• Technology
• Finance
• HR
• Sales
• etc.

Departments

Organizational groupings:

• Engineering
• Marketing
• Operations
• etc.

Languages

Filter by document language:

• English
• Spanish
• French
• etc.

Date Range

Filter by creation/modification date:

• Last 7 days
• Last 30 days
• Last 90 days
• Custom range

Sentiment

Content tone analysis:

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative

Search Results

Each result shows:

• Title: Document name with link
• Preview: Relevant excerpt
• Source: Where the document came from
• Relevance: Score indicating match quality
• Tags: Topics and categories

Scope Selection

Choosing Collections

Use the scope selector to control search boundaries:

1. Click the Scope dropdown
2. Select specific collections or "All Collections"
3. See document counts per collection

Use Cases

Scope	When to Use
All Collections	General questions, company-wide search
Single Collection	Focused research in one area
Multiple Collections	Cross-functional queries

Agent Mode

Enabling Agents

Use the agent mode toggle:

• Auto: ZenSearch decides when to use agents
• Research: Always use agent with planning
• Off: Simple chat only

Agent Capabilities

Agents can:

• Search multiple collections
• Query connected databases
• Extract entities and relationships
• Perform calculations
• Synthesize information from many sources

Agent Progress Display

When an agent runs, you'll see:

[Planning] Breaking down your request...

[Iteration 1/5]
├── Thinking: Analyzing the question...
├── Tool: search_documents
│   Parameters: { query: "quarterly revenue" }
└── Result: Found 8 relevant documents

[Iteration 2/5]
├── Thinking: Need more specific data...
├── Tool: query_database
│   Parameters: { sql: "SELECT..." }
└── Result: 12 rows returned

[Synthesizing] Creating final response...

When to Use Agents

Agents excel at:

• Multi-part questions
• Comparative analysis
• Data aggregation
• Research tasks
• Complex reasoning

File Upload

Uploading Files

1. Click the Upload button (paperclip icon)
2. Select one or more files
3. Wait for processing to complete
4. Ask questions about the uploaded content

Supported Formats

• PDF documents
• Word documents (.docx)
• Text files
• Images (for visual questions)
• Spreadsheets

Upload Status

Files show status indicators:

• Uploading: Transfer in progress
• Processing: Extracting content
• Ready: File is searchable
• Failed: Upload error

Suggested Questions

When you first visit or have no messages, ZenSearch suggests questions:

• Based on your connected data sources
• Covering common use cases
• Click to instantly search

If you have no data sources connected, suggestions guide you to add connectors.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Enter	Send message
Shift + Enter	New line in input
Cmd/Ctrl + K	Focus search
Escape	Cancel current request

Best Practices

Writing Good Questions

1. Be specific: Include context and details
2. Use natural language: Ask complete questions
3. Mention timeframes: "in the last quarter", "for 2024"
4. Reference specifics: Department, project, or document names

Examples

Poor Question	Better Question
"sales"	"What were our total sales in Q4 2024?"
"policy"	"What is our work from home policy?"
"how to"	"How do I submit an expense report?"

Understanding Citations

• [1], [2], etc.: Click to view source document
• Multiple citations: Information synthesized from several sources
• No citations: General knowledge or reasoning

Troubleshooting

No Results Found

1. Check that collections contain relevant content
2. Try broader search terms
3. Verify the correct scope is selected
4. Wait for syncs to complete

Slow Responses

1. Complex questions take longer
2. Agent tasks require multiple steps
3. Large document sets need more processing

Incorrect Answers

1. Check the cited sources for accuracy
2. Try rephrasing your question
3. Use agent mode for complex topics
4. Verify source documents are up to date

Next Steps

• Agents - Create custom AI agents
• Knowledge - Manage data sources
• Search Deep Dive - Advanced search techniques