Web Search

The information an industrial agent needs is not always in the company's internal collections. Sometimes a technician asks about the current price of an imported component, or needs a manufacturer's technical datasheet, or wants to know if a standard has been updated. Web search allows the agent to query the internet in real time to answer those questions with current information.

What is it for?

Company data collections contain internal information: proprietary technical sheets, inventory, maintenance history. But many questions require external information that changes frequently — prices, regulations, new equipment specifications. Without web search, the agent can only respond with what it already knows; with web search, it can consult up-to-date sources.

Web search allows the agent to:

• Look up market prices for spare parts or materials on supplier websites
• Search for equipment technical specifications directly on the manufacturer's site
• Verify current technical standards (ISO, ASME, and local norms)
• Consult industry news or technical bulletins
• Answer questions about products or suppliers not in the internal collections

How does it work?

When the agent detects that a question requires up-to-date information it does not have internally, it performs a web search. The system uses Brave Search to run the query, retrieves the most relevant results, and the agent processes them to extract the specific information the user needs.

The administrator can configure whether the agent can search the entire web or only specific domains — for example, limiting search to trusted manufacturer sites and excluding unreliable technical sources.

How to use it?

Add web search to an agent

Web search is configured as an agent tool:

1. Go to Tools and create a new tool.
2. Select the type System action.
3. Choose the action Search the web.
4. Configure the parameters:

5. Save the tool and assign it to the agent.

Limit search to trusted sources

For an industrial maintenance agent, it makes sense to limit search to manufacturer and standards body sites rather than the entire web:

Example domains for an industrial maintenance agent:

• Manufacturer sites: skf.com, sealmaster.com, baldor.com, siemens.com
• Standards and regulations: iso.org, asme.org
• Industrial distributors: grainger.com, mcmaster.com, fastenal.com

By limiting domains, the agent only finds results from verified sources and avoids responding with low-quality or unverified information.

Cost per search

Each web search has a usage cost. To optimize spending:

• Configure specific domains so the agent only searches when truly necessary
• Use a maximum results number of 5 — sufficient for most queries
• Reserve web search for agents where up-to-date information is critical; for agents that only query internal inventory, it is not needed

To view the accumulated web search cost, see the AI Usage section in Administration.

Key benefits

• Up-to-date responses that do not depend on when the collections were last updated
• Option to limit search to verified and sector-appropriate sources
• The agent cites the source of found information in its response
• Configured per agent — only agents that need it have web search enabled
• Works in any search language according to the agent's prompt

Common use cases

Scenario 1: Imported spare part price inquiry The procurement manager asks the agent: "What does an SKF 6205 bearing cost approximately in the market?" The agent searches on the SKF site and configured distributors, retrieves the current price range in the market, and responds with the prices found and the sources. The manager has a price reference before requesting formal quotes.

Scenario 2: Verify manufacturer specifications A technician asks the agent: "What is the bolt torque specification for the Atlas Copco GA37 compressor?" The specific datasheet is not in the collections. The agent searches on the Atlas Copco site and available technical manuals, finds the specification, and responds with the value and the source. The technician has the correct information directly from the manufacturer.

Scenario 3: Check for a regulatory update The safety supervisor asks: "Has the LOTO standard for electrical isolation had any recent updates?" The agent searches on the official occupational safety authority site and configured regulatory sources. It finds the current status of the standard and whether revisions are in progress. It responds with the current information and the link to the official source.