Tools
Web Search
Search controls, source reading, custom SearXNG behavior, and privacy boundaries.
On this page
Turn on Web Search
- Turn on Web Search from the Tools tab, Settings, or a chat’s tools menu. These surfaces share one remembered switch on the device.
- Use built-in Noema Search with no provider setup, or select your own Brave, Tavily, Exa, or custom search service when configured.
- Send a question with a tool-capable model. The model can search when useful; Off-Grid and organization policy can block the request.
Per-chat arming has been removed. Beginner experience mode manages search through its own simplified controls. For an editable multi-step plan and a cited report, use Deep Research.
Three web actions
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
| research | Searches and assembles candidate evidence for a question. |
| open | Reads a selected source when supported. |
| find | Locates relevant text within an opened source. |
Text-layer PDFs can be read. The source reader does not execute page JavaScript or perform OCR on image-only material.
What may be sent
The selected search service receives the generated query, locale, and search controls. Rich retrieval can also send candidate URLs, snippets or source references, and open or find parameters to Noema’s source reader. Returned evidence is then provided to the active model.
A custom SearXNG instance supplies snippet-only search results; it does not provide Noema’s richer server-side source reading.
Availability and quotas
Noema does not impose an in-app web-search quota or subscription. Availability can still be affected by the selected service, upstream providers, rate limits, maintenance, or network conditions.
Verify the evidence
- Open cited sources and check the publication date.
- Use find to inspect the passage behind a claim.
- Treat snippets as leads, not complete evidence.
- Off-grid Mode blocks Web Search.