Find the record that answers the question.
Search and retrieval
Search the records and documents you are allowed to access. See the source behind an answer and open it when you need the detail.
What payment terms did we agree with this customer?
Find the relevant customer record and supporting agreement. Check the current terms against the source before preparing a response.
Where are the agreed payment terms?
The answer includes the record and document used to find it.
RetrievalIllustrative records| Source | What it contains | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Customer account | Current configured terms | Check the live record |
| Signed agreement | Agreed payment conditions | Open the source |
| Recent invoice | Terms used on the invoice | Compare with the agreement |
Read the terms in context before replying.
Use the permitted sources and their dates. If they disagree, surface the difference rather than choosing an unsupported answer.
- Keyword search over your documents, tested first.
- Search by meaning where similar wording matters more than exact words — similar product descriptions, other names for the same thing, finding documents.
- Search guided by links — the links between your records narrow down where to look before the search runs.
- Past cases — the ticket that looked like this one, and what actually fixed it.
- Best results first, then a permission check on every result before you see it.
How search could leak, and the safeguard for each.
Your search data is walled off from other customers' data, just like everything else in Cobalt ERP. Search does bring its own risks, and each one has a specific safeguard.
- Permissions that change — who may see each document is stored with the search, but every result is checked against your current permissions before you see it.
- Out-of-date content — every result knows which document and which version it came from.
- Outdated search data — when the way documents are prepared for search changes, everything is processed again.
- Deleted documents — removed from search as well, and checked to confirm nothing is left.
- Poor results — search quality is tested before anyone is given the feature.
- Repeating private text — tested before release, because a search that can recite a document word for word could leak it.
- Leaks between customers — no search anywhere in the system runs without being limited to your own data.
Figures always come from your records.
What search finds is supporting evidence. It is never the source for an account balance, whether an invoice is paid, a stock level, tax, a document’s status, a posting or an approval. Those always come from the right part of Cobalt ERP. Search adds the policy that applies and the past case that looks similar, with a link so you can read it yourself.
When the answer is written down somewhere.
- “What does our returns policy say about this?” — the clause, linked, with the version it came from.
- “Have we seen this before?” — the past case and what fixed it.
- “Which procedure applies here?” — narrowed to the company and country you are actually working in.
- “Where is the contract that covers this?” — a search across everything you are allowed to see.
- “Is there an equivalent product?” — similar descriptions, offered as a suggestion and never swapped in for you.
Frequently asked questions.
Does AI search put my data at risk?
Not in itself. Search data is walled off from other customers like everything else. The real risks are changed permissions, out-of-date content, incomplete deletion and repeating private text, and each has its own safeguard.
When are permissions checked?
Twice. The search only looks at documents you were allowed to see when they were added, and then every result is checked against your current permissions before you see it, in case they have changed.
Why not search by meaning for everything?
Because it costs more, and keyword search is often enough. Search by meaning is added where tests show keyword search is falling short, not because it is fashionable.
Can search tell me my balance?
No. Balances, stock levels, payment status and tax come from your records. Search finds the policy about them, not the figure.
Try it on your own records.
Book a demo and ask it a real question about your business. Every answer shows how it was worked out and which records it used.
Book a demo