What it is
Normally a model only knows what it learned when it was built. With web search on, Manas searches the web, reads the top pages and writes its answer from them, with numbered sources you can click to check.
When to use it
- Anything recent: news, launches, prices, new rules.
- Facts you want to check against a source before you use them.
- Quick research on a competitor, a product category or a public company.
How to use it
- Start a chat and pick a model.
- Click the Tools menu next to the message box (the sliders icon) and switch on Web Search. Pin it there to keep it on for every new chat.
- Ask your question. Be specific: include names, places and dates.
- Read the answer and click the numbered sources to check the facts.
Web search is off in each new chat until you switch it on (or pin it). Asking "search the web" without it does not search.
Using an agent? Agent chats do not show the switch. An agent searches the web only if its owner turned web search on in the agent's settings.
Good to know
- Searches use Google and Bing, in English, with safe search on.
- It reads ordinary web pages. It cannot read PDFs, take screenshots, or read pages that only work as apps; those come back thin.
- It cannot reach Kapiva's internal sites.
- Search engines sometimes push back on automated searches, so results can be thin on some tries. Trying again a little later often helps.
- A searched answer uses more of your daily allowance than a quick question, though usually less than a long, careful answer.
- On Claude, a searched answer uses more of the shared Claude capacity, so you are more likely to see a "busy" message.
If something goes wrong
- The model says it cannot search the web
- Web search is off in this chat. Switch it on in the Tools menu and ask again.
- Few or no sources, or the answer seems out of date
- Ask again a little later, or make the question more specific.
- Manas asks you for a Firecrawl API key
- Do not enter one. Close the box and tell the Manas team: it means web search needs fixing on our side.
- "Claude is busy right now…"
- Wait about 20 seconds and try again, or switch to Gemini or ChatGPT.