Search Tips

Get the most out of Mainbranch by mastering search techniques. This guide covers strategies for finding information quickly and accurately.

Search Fundamentals

Mainbranch search uses AI to understand your intent and find relevant information across all connected data sources. Unlike traditional keyword search, you can:

Ask questions in natural language
Get synthesized answers, not just links
Receive source citations for verification
Ask follow-up questions for more detail

Natural Language Queries

Write your searches as you would ask a colleague:

Questions Work Best

Instead of: "vacation policy"
Try: "What is our vacation policy?"

Instead of: "budget Q3"
Try: "What was the Q3 budget allocation?"

Instead of: "IT contact"
Try: "Who should I contact for IT support?"

Be Conversational

The AI understands context and conversational language:

"Can you help me find the employee handbook?"
"I need information about the project deadline"
"Tell me about the recent changes to HR policy"

Adding Specificity

More specific queries produce better results:

Include Context

Less Effective	More Effective
”Find the report"	"Find the Q3 2024 financial report"
"Meeting notes"	"Meeting notes from the budget review last Tuesday"
"Policy document"	"The IT security policy from 2024”

Specify Time Periods

"What emails did I receive last week about the project?"
"Find documents modified in January 2024"
"Show me meeting notes from this quarter"

Name People or Departments

"What did the Finance team submit for the budget?"
"Find documents from Sarah Johnson"
"Show me emails from the IT department"

Indicate Document Types

"Find spreadsheets with budget data"
"Show me PDFs of the contract"
"Find the presentation about marketing strategy"

Follow-Up Searches

Use follow-up questions to refine results or dig deeper:

Drilling Down

Initial: "What is our remote work policy?"
Follow-up: "How do I request remote work approval?"
Follow-up: "What equipment is provided for remote workers?"

Clarifying Results

Initial: "Find the project plan"
Follow-up: "I meant the infrastructure project plan"
Follow-up: "Show me the timeline section"

Expanding Scope

Initial: "What was discussed at the board meeting?"
Follow-up: "What about previous board meetings on this topic?"
Follow-up: "Are there any related documents I should review?"

Search Operators

While natural language works best, you can use specific phrases to guide results:

Finding Exact Phrases

Use quotes for exact matches:

"Find documents containing 'strategic initiative'"
"Search for emails with 'urgent action required'"

Excluding Terms

Specify what to exclude:

"Find budget documents but not from 2023"
"Show me IT policies excluding temporary procedures"

Combining Criteria

Combine multiple requirements:

"Find PDF documents from Finance department about Q4 budget"
"Show me emails from last month mentioning project deadline"

Source-Specific Searches

Guide the AI to search specific sources:

By Platform

"Search my emails for the contract"
"Find this in Google Drive"
"Check my calendar for meetings about the project"
"Look in The Vault for the policy document"

By Document Type

"Find spreadsheets with expense data"
"Show me presentations about marketing"
"Search meeting transcripts for budget discussions"

Common Search Scenarios

Finding Documents

"Where is the employee onboarding checklist?"
"Find the latest version of the project proposal"
"Show me the contract with [vendor name]"

Getting Answers

"What is the process for requesting PTO?"
"Who is responsible for approving purchases over $5,000?"
"What are the deadlines for the Q4 report?"

Summarizing Information

"Summarize the key points from the board meeting"
"What are the main recommendations in the audit report?"
"Give me an overview of the project status"

Comparing Information

"What are the differences between the two proposals?"
"Compare this year's budget to last year's"
"How have the policies changed since 2023?"

Improving Results

Try Different Phrasings

Attempt 1: "Find the IT policy"
Attempt 2: "What are the IT security guidelines?"
Attempt 3: "Show me technology usage policies"

Start Broad, Then Narrow

Start: "What do we have about the project?"
Narrow: "Focus on the budget aspects"
Narrow: "Specifically the Q4 projections"

Ask for Suggestions

"What documents should I review about this topic?"
"What else is related to this?"
"Are there other policies I should know about?"

Verifying Results

Check Sources

Always review the source citations provided with AI responses:

Click through to original documents
Verify quotes and statistics
Check document dates for currency

Cross-Reference

For important information:

"Where else is this mentioned?"
"Are there any contradicting documents?"
"What is the most recent information on this?"

Troubleshooting Searches

No Results Found

Broaden your search terms
Check spelling and names
Try synonyms or related terms
Verify the content exists in connected sources

Wrong Results

Add more specific criteria
Exclude irrelevant terms
Specify the time period or document type
Try a completely different phrasing

Outdated Information

Ask for the most recent version
Specify a date range
Ask the AI to check when the document was last updated

Cannot Find Known Documents

Verify you have access to the document
Check if the source is connected
Allow time for recently added documents to be indexed
Contact your administrator

Advanced Techniques

Multi-Step Research

For complex topics, break your research into steps:

Step 1: "Give me an overview of [topic]"
Step 2: "What are the key policies related to this?"
Step 3: "What decisions have been made in meetings?"
Step 4: "Summarize all the relevant information"

Using Chat History

Your conversation context is preserved:

"Based on what we just discussed, what should I do next?"
"Combine the information from those documents"
"Create a summary of everything we found"