Search and Chat with Knowledge Agents
Guru gives you two ways to find the information you need: search for quick answers to specific questions, and chat for back-and-forth conversations when you want to explore a topic in depth. This article walks you through how to use both..
Opening search or chat
- Click Ask Guru in the top navigation bar.
- Use the toggle at the top of the modal to switch between Search and Chat modes. Guru remembers your last-used mode, so you won't need to switch every time.
Choosing a Knowledge Agent
Before you search or chat, you'll see a Knowledge Agent dropdown. Knowledge Agents are AI-powered assistants configured to search specific sources and respond in a particular way. Your workspace may have agents set up for different teams - for example, an HR agent for policy questions or an IT agent for technical help.
The default agent appears first in the dropdown and is available to everyone. It searches the sources your Admin has configured for it.
TipNot sure which agent to use? Start with the default. If you're not finding what you need, try switching to a more specialized agent or check with your Admin about what agents are available to you.
Searching for information
Search works best when you have a specific question or want to quickly find a Card you know exists.
Perform a search
- Open the Ask Guru modal and select Search mode.
- Select an agent from the dropdown, or use the default.
- Type your question or keywords and press Enter.
Guru displays an AI-generated answer at the top, followed by Cards and content from connected sources like Google Drive, Salesforce, or Slack.
Understand your search results
- AI-generated answer. A direct response based on your team's verified knowledge, with citations linking to the sources used.
- Cards. Guru Cards that match your search terms.
- External sources. Content from connected tools your Admin has set up.
Click Answer Details to see the reasoning behind an answer, the specific sources consulted, and the search terms applied.
Filter your results
Use filters to narrow down what you're seeing:
- Source. Limit results to a specific connected system.
- Collection. Focus on Cards from a particular Collection.
- Author. Find content created by a specific team member.
- Tag. Search for Cards with specific tags.
- Verification status. Show only verified or unverified Cards.
Find a Card by name
As you type, Guru surfaces up to three Card title matches as quick-pick suggestions in the dropdown — useful when you remember the name of the Card you're looking for.
Chatting for deeper answers
Chat is great when you want to ask follow-up questions, explore a topic from multiple angles, or work through something complex.
Start a chat
- Open the Ask Guru modal and select Chat mode, or click Start Chat in the top left corner.
- Select an agent from the dropdown.
- Type your question naturally and press Enter.
Keep the conversation going
Unlike search, chat maintains context across your messages. You can ask follow-up questions, request clarifications, and build on previous answers without starting over. Because the chat thread maintains the context, too long of a chat can begin to muddy the results. Best practice is to keep chat threads between 5 - 10 questions long, around the same topic.
Example:
- "What's our return policy?"
- "What about returns after 30 days?"
- "How do international customers handle this?"
TipFor deep research that combines your internal knowledge with web search, use Research Mode.
Giving feedback on answers
Your feedback helps improve answers over time. After any AI-generated response:
- Click 👍 to mark it as helpful.
- Click 👎 to flag it as incorrect or unhelpful.
- Click the same icon again to undo.
In Slack, flagging with 👎 can't be undone, so use it intentionally.
Sharing an answer
At the bottom of any AI-generated answer, you'll find a link icon. Click it to copy a shareable link to your clipboard. Shared links respect permissions — teammates will only see content they're authorized to access - Owners of the relevant Knowledge Agent and the question asker can view that question/answer.
Advanced search features
Use exact phrase search
Wrap your search in quotation marks to find content with that exact wording — for example, "engineering onboarding". Without quotes, Guru also returns results based on related terms and alternate word forms.
Search inside files
Guru automatically extracts and searches text from files attached to Cards, including PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and plain text files.
NoteGuru can extract text from images, but can't interpret images contextually (for example, it can't read dates off a calendar image). Images will appear as cited sources but won't display inline in results. File size limit is 500MB (10MB for PNGs), up to 3,000 pages.
Understanding web search results
If your Knowledge Agent has web search enabled, answers may include content from external websites alongside your internal sources. Click Answer Details to see which web queries were run, how many results were found, and why specific sources were selected.
Frequently asked questions about searching and chatting
Can I use both search and chat? Yes. You can toggle between them in the same interface, or click "Ask a Follow Up" from search results to keep exploring.
How do I know which Knowledge Agent to use? Start with the default agent. If your workspace has specialized agents (HR, IT, Sales, etc.), use the one that best matches your question's topic.
How accurate are AI-generated answers? Guru generates answers from your team's verified content - not from a general-purpose AI. Always check the citations, and use 👍/👎 feedback to help improve accuracy over time.
Can I search content from external tools? Yes, if your Admin has connected external sources like Google Drive, Salesforce, or Slack. You can filter results by source to focus your search.
Who can see my chat conversations? Your chats are visible to you individually. Admins and Knowledge Agent owners may also review conversations to improve answer quality over time.
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Updated 1 day ago