File uploads
The File Uploads section lets you upload documents as additional knowledge sources for your domain's AI assistant. Uploaded files are processed and prepared for search only when you explicitly trigger indexing.
Supported files
Supported file types
The following document formats are accepted:
| Format | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Text-based PDFs. Scanned images without OCR text layers are not supported. | ||
| Word | .docx | Modern Word documents. Legacy .doc format is not supported. |
| Plain Text | .txt | UTF-8 encoded text files. |
| Markdown | .md | Markdown files. Formatting may be simplified during text extraction. |
| XML | .xml | Structured XML documents. Text content is extracted, but some structured markup may not be used. |
Workflow
How to upload a file
Open a domain's detail page and go to the Knowledge tab. At the top, you will see the File Uploads panel with a drag-and-drop zone. You can either drag a file onto the zone or click Browse Files to open a file picker. The file is uploaded when you select it, then stays in Awaiting indexing status. To process it, open the ⋮ menu on the file row and click Index.
Statuses
File status lifecycle
Each uploaded file has a status chip next to the filename:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Awaiting indexing | The file has been received and is waiting to be processed. Click Index from the actions menu to start. |
| Processing | ZENIA is extracting the file content and preparing it for use as a knowledge source. Processing time depends on file size and content. |
| Indexed | The file was processed successfully and is now available as a knowledge source for the AI assistant. |
| Failed | Processing failed. Check the error message displayed below the filename. You can try re-indexing the file. |
Reindexing
Indexing and re-indexing a file
To process a newly uploaded file, click the ⋮ menu on the file row and select Index. For files that have already been indexed, the same menu shows Re-index to process the file again. For failed files, the action is labelled Retry. The status changes to Processing while work is in progress.
Limits
Plan limits
File uploads are controlled by your current plan. Your plan determines the maximum number of files per domain and the total upload storage per workspace. Each uploaded file can be up to 50 MB. If file uploads are unavailable on your current plan, the panel shows a notice instead of the upload zone. When you reach the per-domain file count, the file count chip in the panel header turns red and the upload zone is disabled. When your workspace storage quota is exhausted, new uploads are rejected until you delete files or change your plan from Account settings.
Tips
Tips for best results
- Use text-based PDFs rather than scanned images. The extractor reads the text layer, not pixels.
- Keep documents focused on one topic. Focused documents are easier to use as reliable sources.
- Use clear headings in your documents. They help ZENIA understand the structure of the content.
- Prefer shorter, focused documents over very long catch-all files. A specific product guide is usually more useful than a large mixed manual.
- After uploading, wait for the Indexed status before testing the file in chat.
Summary
Uploaded file knowledge is combined with crawled website content and custom text. You can mix and match sources: crawl your website for general content, upload documents for product specs or policies, and add custom text for FAQs or corrections.