Starting an Explore Session
An Explore Session is a single research conversation with The Archiver's AI. Here's how to start one.
Before you start
Explore works best when you:
- Have a clear question in mind
- Know which Accessions or parts of your archive are relevant
The AI reads the documents in the Accessions you select — so the more relevant your selection, the better the answers.
Step 1: Go to Explore
Click Explore in the left sidebar.
Step 2: Select your Accessions
You'll be asked which parts of your archive the AI should focus on.
- Use the dropdown to select one or more Accessions
- Or select Entire archive to search across everything
Narrower is usually better. Selecting only the relevant Accessions means the AI focuses its attention on the most useful documents and gives more precise answers.
Step 3: Ask your question
Type your question in the text box and press Enter (or click Ask).
The AI will:
- Identify the most relevant documents in the selected Accessions
- Read them in depth
- Compose an answer, with citations to specific documents
This usually takes 30–120 seconds depending on how many documents it needs to read.
Step 4: Read the response
The response appears in the chat panel. Each answer includes:
- A narrative response to your question
- Citations — references to the specific documents the AI drew on
- Click any citation to jump to the source document
Step 5: Continue the conversation
You can ask follow-up questions in the same session. The AI remembers the context of your earlier questions, so you can have a natural back-and-forth:
"Who else is mentioned in those letters?" "Can you say more about the financial difficulties you mentioned?" "Are there any documents that contradict that?"
Session history
Past sessions are saved and accessible from the Explore page. Click any past session to read the conversation and continue it if needed.
Usage
Each question in Explore uses a portion of your monthly AI allowance. Check your current usage in Settings → Usage & Plan.