Explorer is where a File Store is inspected and maintained - and where grounded questions start. The filters you apply while browsing are the same filters passed to Gemini File Search, so the document set you can see is the document set an answer is drawn from.
Explore, filter, and maintain documents
Explorer combines category navigation, full-store search, sorting, facet filters, metadata editing, upload state, and document actions.
Compact dropdowns for doc type, status, locale, product, versions, and tags
sit beside Categories and Coverage. Selecting a value converts the dropdown into a visible,
removable filter chip; clearing it restores the dropdown. Missing metadata is shown as (no value).
Category and facet filters are deep-linkable. Coverage links operate over the whole File Store, so they clear the current category before showing a store-wide result that would otherwise appear empty.
Each document row can:
- open its category or Source URL;
- download the cached source;
- edit metadata;
- retry a failed or pending Gemini upload;
- start a chat scoped to that document; or
- delete the local and Gemini copies.
Folder rows also provide a recursive delete action. It previews the exact number and a sample of documents that will be removed from that category and every nested category before asking for confirmation. A recurring folder import can restore those documents on its next run, so update the source's include or exclude rules as well when the deletion should be permanent.
Work in progress remains visible: uploads show activity, failures show their provider message, and a document being deleted displays a red struck-through name with a spinner.
Edit metadata in bulk
Select the current page-or every document matching the current filters-to apply a staged bulk edit.
- Scalar fields support Set where empty, Overwrite, and Clear.
- Versions and tags support Add, Remove, Replace, and Clear.
The preview reports how many documents will change. Bulk edits update the local catalogue first, letting you make several corrections before paying for a single re-indexing pass.
Coverage and synchronization
Coverage & filters answers two separate questions:
- How consistently is metadata populated?
- Does the local catalogue agree with Gemini?
The sync report detects documents missing locally or remotely, metadata differences, unmatched fields, and duplicate remote copies. Issue counts link back to an unscoped Explorer result with the active filter visibly displayed.
Local metadata edits appear immediately in Explorer, but Gemini still searches its last indexed metadata until you choose Push N to Gemini. Because Gemini cannot patch metadata in place, those documents are uploaded and embedded again. Use Prune duplicates when sync detects redundant remote documents.
Ask grounded questions
The chat header makes the retrieval scope visible. A category is displayed as a path, while other filters are summarized by count:
docs.example.com/auth (2)
Hover over it to see each filter on a separate line. The same filter expression shown in Coverage is passed to Gemini File Search, so Explorer and the grounded query describe the same document set.
Answers, citations, and source evidence
Grounded answers place citation markers beside supported claims. Each assistant response retains its own Sources section as the conversation continues. Expand a source to inspect the retrieved excerpt, or follow its title to the document's Source URL.
Source links resolve in this order:
- the document's Source URL;
- the URI returned by Gemini;
- the cached document download.
Grounding is implemented by including an OpenAI-shaped file_search tool in the thread, which the
Google provider forwards to Gemini together with the active File Store and metadata filter. Sources
are retained with each response, so users can verify where an answer came from instead of treating
fluent output as evidence.
Gemini File Search is a built-in retrieval tool. When a File Search request is active, the Gemini
provider sends only file_search and temporarily omits other selected function tools, avoiding an
unsupported built-in-tool/function-calling combination. Your normal tool selections are not
changed.
For the metadata fields these filters operate on, see Metadata & Source URLs. To make the same grounded retrieval available to visitors on your website, publish an AI Assistant.