> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aspect.inc/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# AI Search
> Find files and exact moments by describing what appears or is said in plain English.
AI Search helps you find content without remembering filenames, adding tags, or knowing the exact words used in a video.
Describe the shot, quote, person, place, or file you need. Aspect searches visual content, spoken words, people, tags, filenames, and metadata, then returns the files and exact moments that best match your request.
## Search by title
Use a known filename or title when you want to locate a specific asset.
## Before you search
Aspect can search an asset after AI indexing finishes. Indexing begins automatically after upload and usually takes a few minutes, depending on the size and length of the file.
You can check the processing status on each asset. If a recently uploaded file does not appear in search results, confirm that its AI indexing is complete.
Add files and learn what happens after upload.
## Search for a specific asset
Open **Search** and describe the shot, quote, person, place, campaign, or file you want to find.
You can combine visual details, spoken topics, people, dates, and metadata in the same request.
Aspect translates your request into filters you can inspect and adjust. Refine a filter if the results are too broad, or remove one to expand the search.
Results appear at the exact time ranges where a match occurs, not only as whole files. Preview a result to confirm that it contains the moment you need.
Open a result in the viewer, add it to a collection, or right-click it and select **Open in mount** to reveal the original file on your desktop.
### Search by title
## What AI Search understands
Aspect combines several kinds of information when searching your media.
### Visual content
Aspect analyzes what appears on screen, including subjects, objects, actions, locations, settings, and visual composition.
You can describe a visual moment even if nobody says those words and the file has never been manually tagged.
### Spoken content
Aspect automatically creates [transcripts](/docs/asset-intelligence/ai-transcription) for video and audio files. Dialogue, interviews, quotes, and other spoken moments become searchable without manual logging.
You can search for an exact phrase or describe the topic you remember:
* `interview clips where someone mentions the budget`
* `someone talking about delivery dates`
Opening a transcript match takes you to the relevant moment in the file.
### People
Aspect can recognize people your team has configured using reference images. Once someone is configured, their name can be used in searches and filters.
For example, you could search for `shots from last week where Harry drives the blue car`.
Aspect can create filters for the person, date range, vehicle, and matching visual scenes.
### Tags and metadata
AI Search can use:
* Automatically generated tags
* Custom labels defined by your team
* Filenames
* File types
* Dates
* Technical properties
* [Custom metadata fields](/docs/workflows/metadata)
This lets you combine content and file details in one request, such as `sunset driving shots from last month recorded at 60 fps`.
## Write a better search
Start with the most important detail, then add context if the results are too broad.
A useful query can combine:
* **Subject:** a person, animal, vehicle, or object
* **Action:** walking, presenting, driving, laughing, or opening a door
* **Setting:** a beach, office, stage, street, or studio
* **Visual style:** wide shot, close-up, handheld, daylight, or sunset
* **Spoken topic:** a product name, budget, deadline, or interview question
* **File details:** date, media type, filename, frame rate, or custom metadata
For example, start with `wide shots of a car driving through the city at night`.
If that returns too many results, add another detail: `wide shots of a blue car driving through the city at night in the rain`.
Search using the details you actually remember. You do not need to guess which tags or metadata fields already exist.
## Adjust search filters
Aspect turns a plain-English request into filters you can inspect and edit.
Use the generated filters to:
* Narrow results to a person, date range, or file type
* Combine visual matches with metadata and technical properties.
* Filter by folder path, including subfolders or only assets directly in the selected folder.
The filters show how Aspect interpreted your request, so you can correct anything that does not match your intent.
## Understand search results
Results identify the matching file and the specific time range where the match occurs.
* **Green:** stronger match
* **Yellow:** possible match
* **Red:** weaker match
Confidence represents how closely the result matches your search. It does not guarantee that the result is correct, so review lower-confidence matches when your query is broad or visually complex.
## Work with search results
### Open the matching moment
Select a result to open the asset in the viewer at the matching moment. From there, you can play the surrounding footage, inspect its transcript, or [leave a comment](/docs/review-and-approve/commenting).
### Open the original file
To work with a result in an editing application:
1. Right-click the search result.
2. Select **Open in mount**.
3. Open the original file from Aspect's mounted drive.
Aspect streams the parts of the file your application needs instead of requiring you to download the entire file first.
Stream and edit large cloud files through a drive on your computer.
### Add results to a collection
To gather related results without moving the original files:
1. Select the results you want to keep.
2. Add them to a new or existing collection.
3. Open the collection to review, organize, or share the selected content.
Collections are useful for selects, review rounds, client deliveries, research, and groups of related footage.
Group related assets without changing where the original files are stored.
## Search in archived projects
Archiving a project moves it to the **Archived** section on the workspace homepage. Its files remain indexed and searchable. Open the archived project list, select the project, and search its media as usual.
Archiving leaves the project's storage tier unchanged. To use **Open in mount** on a search result, the project must use **Active Storage**. See [storage tiers and project archiving](/docs/concepts/core-concepts#storage-tiers).
## AI Search and Aspect Agent
AI Search and Aspect Agent serve different purposes:
* **AI Search** retrieves matching files and moments.
* **Aspect Agent** can answer questions and complete multi-step tasks, such as finding content, building collections, organizing assets, editing metadata, or creating share links.
Use AI Search when you want to inspect and refine results yourself. Use Aspect Agent when you want Aspect to complete a broader task using those results.
Ask questions about your media and have Aspect complete multi-step actions.
## AI processing and privacy
AI-generated metadata is logically isolated by workspace and is not shared across customers. Your media is not used to train Aspect's or its AI service providers' models.
Folders and projects can be excluded from AI indexing.
## Related guides
Learn how speech becomes a searchable, time-linked transcript.
Open matching moments, inspect transcripts, and leave feedback.
Save groups of search results without moving the originals.
Ask questions and automate multi-step media workflows.