Uploading a document

Adding a document makes it available to the assistant as a source for grounded answers. Only department admins and platform admins can upload documents.

Before you start

Check that your file is in a supported format and under the size limit:

Format	Extension
PDF	.pdf
Word document	.docx
Plain text	.txt
Markdown	.md

Maximum file size: 25 MB.

If your file is a scanned PDF (images only, no selectable text), the upload will succeed but processing will fail. See Document processing status for what to do.

Steps

1. Go to Administration → Document Upload.
2. Click Choose file and select your document.
3. Enter a title — this is what users and the audit log refer to, so make it descriptive (for example, “Remote Work Policy – EMEA” rather than “policy_v3_final”).
4. Choose the department this document belongs to.
5. Set the access level — this controls who can read it. See Departments & access levels if you’re unsure which to choose.
6. Click Upload.

Screenshot

The Document Upload form showing file picker, title, department, and access level fields — added in a later docs update.

After you click Upload, Zahen begins processing the document automatically. You don’t need to wait — come back to check the status in the document list. See Document processing status for what the stages mean.

Titling documents well

A good title helps admins manage the knowledge base and helps the audit log stay readable. Prefer titles that include the topic and any relevant scope or version:

• “Annual Leave Policy 2026” rather than “HR Policy”
• “IT Security Baseline – All Staff” rather than “security”
• “Customer Escalation Template – Tier 2” rather than “email template”

Tip

Once a document reaches “ready” status, its title appears in citations shown to users. A clear title helps users judge whether a cited source is relevant.