Web Search in Chat

Let chat search the live web via Exa to ground answers in fresh, real-world context.

Chat can reach out to the live web when you ask something your notes alone cannot answer. With web search turned on, answers stay grounded in fresh, real-world context instead of the model's training data - useful for news, prices, docs, or anything that changes over time. VivaDicta uses Exa for web search.

Open Chat Tools

Go to Settings and scroll to AI Settings. Tap Chat Tools.

Chat Tools entry under AI Settings in the Settings screen

Enable Web Search

On the Chat Tools screen, toggle Web Search (Exa) on. Then tap Configure Exa API Key and paste your key - Exa has a free tier that is enough for regular use. Without a valid key web search stays disabled even with the toggle on.

Chat Tools screen with Web Search toggle and Configure Exa API Key row

Use It In Chat

When web search is on, a globe button appears next to the chat input. Tap it before sending a message to force the chat to run a web search for that question. With compatible models, the chat can also decide to search automatically when a question looks like it needs fresh information.

Chat input with the globe web search button on the left

Getting an Exa API Key

  1. Sign up at exa.ai.
  2. Open the dashboard and create a new API key.
  3. Paste the key into Configure Exa API Key in VivaDicta.

See also: Chat With Your Notes for the chat modes and cross-note search.