Guide
AI Discovery
Describe a topic and let AI find relevant sources from the web.
Instead of manually searching for sources, let Onsomble’s AI discover them for you. Describe what you’re researching, and it will search the web, analyze results, and suggest the most relevant sources.
How It Works
Open Discovery
Click the sparkle icon (✨) in the Sources panel header to open the discovery dialog.
Describe Your Topic
Enter a description of what you’re researching. Be specific for better results.
Good examples:
- “Machine learning techniques for natural language processing”
- “Best practices for React component architecture”
- “History of the Apollo space program”
Less effective:
- “AI stuff”
- “React”
- “Space”
Choose Source Count
Select how many sources you want to discover (3 to 10). Start with fewer if you want only the most relevant results.
Wait for Discovery
Onsomble searches the web and analyzes results. You’ll see progress through three stages:
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Searching | AI queries the web for your topic |
| Analyzing | Results are processed and evaluated |
| Ranking | Sources are scored by relevance |
Review Results
Each discovered source shows:
- Title — The page or document title
- Snippet — A preview of the content
- Type — Website, PDF, YouTube, etc.
- Relevance score — How closely it matches your topic
Select and Import
Check the sources you want to add. All sources are selected by default — uncheck any you don’t need. Click Add Sources to import them.
Discovery Tips
Be Specific
The more specific your topic, the better the results.
| Instead of… | Try… |
|---|---|
| ”Python" | "Python async programming patterns" |
| "Marketing" | "B2B SaaS content marketing strategies" |
| "History" | "Economic causes of World War I” |
Use Keywords
Include key terms that would appear in the sources you want:
- Technical terms for academic content
- Industry jargon for professional content
- Names and dates for historical content
Iterate
If the first results aren’t quite right:
- Click Try Again to refine your search
- Adjust your topic description
- Try different keywords or angles
What Gets Discovered
AI Discovery finds sources from across the web:
| Source Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Articles | Blog posts, news articles, guides |
| Documentation | Technical docs, API references |
| Research | Academic papers, whitepapers (PDFs) |
| Videos | YouTube tutorials, lectures |
Discovery searches public web content. It won’t find paywalled articles or private documents.
After Import
Discovered sources are processed like any other source:
- Content is extracted from the URL
- Text is chunked and embedded
- Sources become available for chat
You can organize them into folders, rename them, or remove any that aren’t useful.
When to Use Discovery
Great for:
- Starting research on a new topic
- Finding authoritative sources quickly
- Discovering content you didn’t know existed
- Building a knowledge base from scratch
Consider manual adding when:
- You have specific sources in mind
- You need paywalled or private content
- You want to add local files