How Assistant Searches Your Documents
When you ask the Assistant a question about your documents, August searches through your connected files to find relevant content. Understanding how this search works helps you phrase queries effectively and know what to expect in results.
How Assistant Finds Your Documents
The Assistant uses two complementary search approaches to retrieve relevant content:
Search Type | What It Does | Best For |
|---|---|---|
Semantic search | Understands meaning and concepts, even when exact words don't match | Finding documents by topic, concept, or described intent |
Keyword search | Matches exact terms and phrases literally | Finding specific clauses, defined terms, or precise language |
Both search types run across your authorized documents — those in folders you've connected or uploaded to August.
Semantic Search
Semantic search finds content based on meaning, not just word matching. When you describe what you're looking for conceptually, semantic search locates relevant passages even if they use different terminology.
Example queries that work well with semantic search:
"What are the termination rights in these agreements?"
"Find provisions about change of control"
"Identify liability limitations across these contracts"
The search understands legal concepts and can find related content even when documents use varied language (e.g., "assignment" vs. "transfer" vs. "novation").
Keyword Search
Keyword search performs literal text matching across your documents. It finds exact occurrences of specific terms or phrases — useful when you need precise language or defined terms.
Example queries that work well with keyword search:
"Find all instances of 'Material Adverse Effect'"
"Where does 'Confidential Information' appear?"
"Search for the exact phrase 'time is of the essence'"
Use keyword search when you need to find exact defined terms, specific clause language, or precise phrases. Use semantic search when you're looking for concepts, topics, or described behavior.
How Scope Affects Search
When you attach documents or folders to a conversation, search operates within that scope:
Specific documents: Search only examines the files you've attached to that conversation.
Folders: Search covers all documents within the connected folder.
Project-wide: When working at the project level, search may span broader document sets depending on your configuration.
Scope filtering works across both semantic and keyword search paths, so your results stay relevant to the materials you've selected.
Search Behavior by Query Type
How you phrase your question influences which search approach dominates:
You ask... | Primary search behavior |
|---|---|
"What are the indemnification obligations?" | Semantic search finds relevant provisions by concept |
"Find 'indemnify' and 'hold harmless' language" | Keyword search matches exact terms |
"What's in the Acme Merger folder?" | Folder search lists files rather than searching content |
"Search these agreements for 'force majeure'" | Keyword search finds exact clause matches |
Citations and Verification
Regardless of which search method surfaces the content, all Assistant responses include citations that link back to source documents. Click any citation to open the underlying passage and verify that the answer accurately reflects the source.
For more on validating outputs, see How August Handles Sources and Citations.
August offers multiple search features for different needs:
Platform Search — Global search across all documents, folders, conversations, and artifacts in your workspace.
Google Drive Integration — Sync Drive folders and use them as document sources in Assistant queries.
Navigate and Manage Folders — Browse folder structure and search by name within folders.
What to Read Next
Assistant Overview — Main workspace guide for research and drafting.
Prompting Guide for August by Mode — Detailed prompting patterns for effective queries.
How August Handles Sources and Citations — Validation workflow for outputs.