How it works

From scattered documents to trusted answers in minutes — not months.

Three steps. No IT project.

AnswerVault is designed so anyone in your organisation can set it up. No admin access, no engineering involvement, no complex configuration.

1. Connect your documents

Sign in with OAuth to SharePoint, Google Drive, or Confluence. Select the folders and spaces you want to include. Your credentials are never stored — AnswerVault uses secure delegated access.

2. We build your knowledge base

AnswerVault indexes your documents, understands their structure and relationships, and builds a searchable knowledge base. This takes minutes, not weeks. The index stays up to date as your documents change.

3. Start asking questions

Ask questions in natural language through Teams, Slack, web, CLI, or API. Every answer includes citations back to the source documents so you can verify where the information came from.

What happens behind the scenes

You don't need to understand the technology to use AnswerVault — but here's a simplified view of how your questions become trusted answers.

Indexing

When you connect a source, AnswerVault reads your documents, understands their content, and maps how they relate to each other. It builds a structured knowledge base that goes beyond simple keyword search — it understands concepts, relationships, and context.

Retrieval

When you ask a question, AnswerVault searches across all your connected sources to find the most relevant information. It doesn't just match keywords — it finds content that's semantically related to what you're asking, even if different words are used.

Answer generation

The relevant context is passed to our managed AI, which generates an answer grounded in your actual documents. Every response includes citations so you can verify the source. If the answer isn't in your documents, it will tell you rather than guessing.

Want the technical detail? See our architecture page for the full system diagram, technology stack, and security details.

What you can ask

AnswerVault works with natural language — ask questions the same way you'd ask a colleague.

Policy and process

"What's our data retention policy?"
"How do I submit an expense claim?"
"What's the process for onboarding a new supplier?"

Technical knowledge

"How do I configure the VPN?"
"What's the architecture of the payments service?"
"Where's the API documentation for the billing module?"

Business information

"Summarise the Q3 board report."
"What were the key findings from the customer survey?"
"Who's the account lead for Acme Corp?"

People and contacts

"Who should I speak to about GDPR compliance?"
"Who wrote the infrastructure migration plan?"
"Who's responsible for the partner programme?"

Your data stays yours

Security isn't an add-on — it's how the product is built.

Documents stay in your environment — your data is never sent to third-party LLM providers. We manage the AI infrastructure.
Encrypted and isolated — all data encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3). Each customer's data is fully isolated with separate encryption keys.
You choose where your data lives — data residency options on Business and Enterprise tiers let you meet regulatory requirements.
We don't train on your data — your documents are used to answer your questions, nothing else.

Read our full security approach for more detail.

Frequently asked questions

How long does setup take?

Minutes. Connect a document source with OAuth, select the folders you want to index, and you're ready to ask questions. There's no IT project or admin access required.

Do I need to install anything?

No. The web interface works in your browser. For Teams and Slack, you add AnswerVault as an app within your workspace. The CLI is optional for developers.

What file types are supported?

AnswerVault indexes PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, Confluence pages, and more. If it's in your connected source, it gets indexed.

How accurate are the answers?

Every answer is grounded in your actual documents and includes citations so you can verify the source. AnswerVault doesn't guess — if the answer isn't in your documents, it will tell you.

What happens when documents change?

AnswerVault keeps your knowledge base in sync. When documents are updated, added, or removed from your connected sources, the index is updated automatically.

Can I control what gets indexed?

Yes. You choose exactly which folders, drives, or spaces to include when you connect a source. You can add or remove content at any time.

Does it work alongside Microsoft Copilot?

Yes. AnswerVault is independent of Copilot. It works across ecosystems — connecting SharePoint, Google Drive, and Confluence in one place, regardless of which AI tools your organisation uses.