> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prophecygov.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Search across all your city's documents with Prophecy

> Search across meeting documents, municipal code, the Data Vault, Laserfiche, and SharePoint simultaneously from a single search interface.

Prophecy's search feature lets you query multiple document libraries at once and see ranked results from each one. Rather than logging into separate systems for meeting records, the municipal code, and your internal file repositories, you enter one query and Prophecy searches all configured sources in parallel.

## What gets searched

Prophecy can search across the following backends, depending on which are configured for your city:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Meeting documents">
    Agendas, minutes, staff reports, and attachments from your city's meeting records, including documents from all configured meeting bodies.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Municipal code">
    Your city's codified local laws — ordinances, zoning codes, building codes, and other regulations that have been indexed in Prophecy.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Data Vault">
    Internal files your city has uploaded to the Data Vault, including HR policies, procedures, and reference documents. Results are limited to files you have access to.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Laserfiche">
    Documents stored in your city's Laserfiche repository, if Laserfiche is integrated with Prophecy for your city.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="SharePoint">
    Files from your city's SharePoint or OneDrive environment, if the SharePoint integration is active.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## How to search

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Search">
    Click **Search** in the left sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter your query">
    Type a keyword, phrase, or question in the search box. There is no special syntax required — plain language works.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select document types">
    Choose which backends to search. By default, all available sources are selected. Uncheck any you want to exclude.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review results">
    Results are grouped by source type. Each result shows a relevance score, a text excerpt, and the document it came from.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Understanding search results

Results are sorted by relevance within each source group. Each result card shows:

* **Document title or filename** — the source document
* **Excerpt** — the specific passage that matched your query
* **Relevance score** — how closely the passage matches

Click a result to open the source document. For meeting documents, Prophecy takes you to the exact passage in the file.

<Note>
  Search results are unfiltered — they show raw matches from the selected sources. The AI has not synthesized or verified the results. If you need a reasoned answer that draws across multiple documents, use AI chat instead.
</Note>

## Search vs. AI chat

Search and AI chat serve different purposes:

|                         | Search                                 | AI chat                                      |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| **What it returns**     | A list of matching document excerpts   | A synthesized, cited answer                  |
| **Best for**            | Finding a specific document or passage | Understanding a topic, drafting, or research |
| **Source transparency** | Shows raw results from each backend    | Cites sources inline in the response         |
| **Reasoning**           | None — results ranked by relevance     | AI reads and synthesizes across sources      |

Use search when you know roughly what document you're looking for. Use AI chat when you have a question and want Prophecy to find and explain the answer.

<Tip>
  If a search result looks relevant but you want to understand it better, copy the document name or key phrase into an AI chat message and ask Prophecy to explain it in context.
</Tip>

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I search all sources at once?">
    Yes. All available sources are selected by default. You can uncheck individual sources to narrow results, but there is no limit on how many you can search simultaneously.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why don't I see results from Laserfiche or SharePoint?">
    These backends only appear and return results if the integration is configured for your city. Contact your city administrator if you expect these sources to be available.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are my Data Vault search results limited to files I can see?">
    Yes. Search only returns Data Vault files you have permission to access — your own files and any files shared with you or set to city-wide access.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is search different from asking the AI a question?">
    Search returns a ranked list of document excerpts — it doesn't interpret or reason about them. AI chat reads those documents and produces a synthesized, cited answer. Use search to locate a document; use chat to understand its contents or get an answer to a research question.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>