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

# Search Issues

> Fix web search quota problems, missing sources, outdated results, and auto-search behavior in ZeroTwo.

ZeroTwo's web search feature uses a Search pill in the chat prompt bar to enable real-time web results. This guide covers common issues with search availability, result quality, and quota consumption.

***

## Search Troubleshooting

<Accordion title="Search pill is grayed out">
  If the Search tool pill in the prompt bar appears grayed out or unclickable:

  **Most likely cause: daily search quota reached.**

  Free plan accounts get **1 web search per day**. Once that's used, the search pill becomes inactive until the reset.

  **To check your usage:**

  1. Go to **Settings → Account**
  2. Look for your daily usage statistics
  3. If search shows 1/1, you've used your daily allocation

  **Reset time:** All daily limits reset at **midnight UTC**.

  **To get more searches:** Upgrade to Pro or above — paid plans include significantly higher or unlimited search allocations.

  **Other causes:**

  * You're not logged in (guest mode has no search access)
  * There's a temporary service issue — try refreshing the page
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="No sources appearing in the Sources panel">
  If ZeroTwo responds but the Sources panel is empty or doesn't appear:

  **The model answered from training data, not the web.** This happens when:

  * The Search pill was not active (highlighted) when you sent your message
  * The model determined it could answer accurately from its training data and didn't trigger a web search
  * Your question was phrased in a way that the model interpreted as conversational rather than research-oriented

  **To force a web search:**

  * Make sure the **Search pill is highlighted/active** before sending
  * Add explicit search intent to your prompt: "Search the web for...", "Find recent information about...", "Look up current..."
  * For real-time data (stock prices, news, live events), the model is more likely to trigger a search automatically

  <Tip>
    If you want sources for every response, keep the Search pill pinned on by clicking it before each message.
  </Tip>
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Search results are outdated">
  Web search results are generally recent, but there can be latency between when content is published and when it's indexed and crawled:

  1. **Check the source URLs directly.** Click through to the sources in the Sources panel to verify the publication date of the content.
  2. **Specify recency in your prompt.** Try phrases like: "from the last 24 hours", "published this week", "latest news about..."
  3. **Try a different Focus Mode.** The "News" focus mode prioritizes recently published news articles. Switch to it for time-sensitive queries.
  4. **Use a Perplexity model.** Perplexity's Sonar models are designed to always search the web and typically surface very recent results. Switch to Sonar or Sonar Pro in the Model Picker.

  <Note>
    Web crawls are inherently delayed. For information published within the last few hours, ZeroTwo (and most AI search tools) may not have indexed it yet. For breaking news, check a news site directly.
  </Note>
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Search returning results in the wrong language">
  By default, ZeroTwo's web search returns results in your interface language setting. If results are appearing in an unexpected language:

  1. **Specify the language in your prompt:** "Search in English for...", "Busca en español...", "search for X and respond in French"
  2. **Change your language setting:** Go to **Settings → Personalization → Language** and select your preferred language. This affects both the interface and search result language preferences.
  3. **Note:** Some topics naturally have more content in certain languages. If you're searching for region-specific content, results may skew toward that region's language regardless of your setting.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Personal focus mode returning no results">
  The **Personal** focus mode searches your connected data sources (Google Drive, Gmail, Notion, etc.) rather than the public web. If it returns nothing:

  1. **Ensure you have connected apps.** Personal mode requires at least one data connector. Go to **Settings → Connectors** and connect an app (Google Drive, Gmail, Notion, etc.).
  2. **Check connector authorization.** If a connector shows as disconnected or has an error, reconnect it: Settings → Connectors → find the app → Reconnect.
  3. **Search for content you know exists.** Test with a specific file name or email subject that you know is in your connected data to confirm search is working.
  4. **Allow indexing time.** After connecting a new data source, it may take a few minutes for content to be indexed and available for search.

  See the [Connectors](/integrations) section for help with specific app connections.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Sources seem unreliable or low quality">
  If search results consistently return low-quality, spammy, or irrelevant sources:

  1. **Switch Focus Mode.** Each focus mode filters results differently:
     * **Research** — prioritizes academic papers, journals, and authoritative sources
     * **News** — prioritizes reputable news publications
     * **PDF** — returns PDF documents (often academic or official)
     * **Company** — business/company information
     * **GitHub** — code repositories and technical documentation
  2. **Be explicit about quality in your prompt.** Add: "use reputable sources", "cite academic papers", "from authoritative sources only"
  3. **Verify important information.** Always click through to the source URL to verify the content before relying on it. AI summarization of web content can introduce errors.

  <Warning>
    AI-generated summaries of web sources may contain inaccuracies. For high-stakes decisions, always read the original source directly.
  </Warning>
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Auto-search using up my daily quota unexpectedly">
  ZeroTwo has an auto-search feature that can automatically trigger a web search when the model determines your question would benefit from current information. On the Free plan with only 1 search/day, this can consume your quota unexpectedly.

  **To disable auto-search:**

  1. Go to **Settings → Preferences → Auto-search**
  2. Toggle it to **Off**

  **To prevent search on a per-message basis:**

  * Add to your prompt: "don't search the web", "answer from your training data only", "no web search"
  * Or simply leave the Search pill deactivated (not highlighted)

  <Tip>
    If you want to preserve your daily search quota for a specific important query, disable the Search pill at the start of your session and only activate it when needed.
  </Tip>
</Accordion>

***

## Search Quick Reference

| Issue                       | Solution                                                        |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Search pill grayed out      | Daily quota reached — wait for midnight UTC reset or upgrade    |
| No sources in panel         | Activate Search pill and use explicit search prompts            |
| Outdated results            | Add recency to prompt; use News focus mode or Perplexity models |
| Wrong language results      | Specify language in prompt or update language setting           |
| Personal mode no results    | Connect apps in Settings → Connectors                           |
| Low quality sources         | Switch focus mode; specify quality requirements in prompt       |
| Auto-search depleting quota | Disable in Settings → Preferences → Auto-search                 |

***

## Need More Help?

Contact [reed@zerotwo.ai](mailto:reed@zerotwo.ai) with a description of your search issue, the model you're using, and your current plan.