How to use Dropbox AI

Dropbox AI uses generative AI to enhance how you interact with your files in Dropbox, helping you save time and manage content more efficiently. Instead of manually searching through folders or skimming long documents, Dropbox AI streamlines the process by finding answers, summarizing content, and highlighting key details.

With Dropbox AI, you can:

• Summarize documents and videos instantly: Get quick, easy-to-read summaries of lengthy PDFs, reports, and videos, so you can grasp the key points without reviewing everything.
• Search smarter: Instead of digging through folders, simply ask Dropbox AI a question in the search bar, and it will locate the right files or extract the most relevant details for you.

How to enable or disable Dropbox AI

1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials. 
2. Click Admin console. 
3. Click Settings in the left sidebar.
4. Select Early access under Account. 
5. In the Features section, click Enroll next to Dropbox AI.
6. Click Get early access.

How to use Summarize & Ask when previewing files

When previewing a single file, you can use Summarize & Ask to generate deeper insights from that specific file.

To use Summarize & Ask in a file preview:

1. Log in to dropbox.com.
2. Click the name of a file to open it in preview mode.
   • Note: The file must be compatible with Dropbox AI. See the FAQ section for supported file types.
3. Click Summarize & Ask. 
4. Type your question into the Ask something about this file field in the sidebar.
5. Press Enter, Return, or click Ask to submit your question.
   • Note: You can select one of the suggested prompts to explore specific actions.

Your AI-generated answer will include page references to highlight where in the file the information was found.

How to generate insights for multiple files with Summarize & Ask

You can use Summarize & Ask to browse through multiple text-based documents, video files with transcripts, and audio files. You can select up to 10 compatible files at once from the file list or grid view to compare or synthesize insights and answers from them.

To use Summarize & Ask across multiple files:

1. Log in to dropbox.com.
2. Select the files you want to analyze by clicking the checkbox next to each file.
   • Note: You can select up to 10 files at a time. If your files are compatible with this feature, the Summarize & Ask button will appear above the file list.
3. Click Summarize & Ask.
4. Type your question into the Ask something about this file box in the Summarize & Ask pane.
   • Note: You can click a suggested prompt like “Summarize this file” or “Tell me more about this topic” to explore specific actions.
5. Press Enter or Return to submit your question and generate a response.

How to use Answers for search

With Answers, you can ask natural-language questions about your files, and AI will scan your content to provide relevant answers. Instead of manually opening documents or scrolling through files, simply type a question in the search bar, and Answers will retrieve the most relevant information from your files.

To ask a question in the search bar:

1. Log in to dropbox.com.
2. Click the search bar at the top of the page.
3. Type a question or command related to your files. For example: 
   • “What are my Q2 financial projects?”
   • “Find my most recent marketing report.”
   • “Summarize my meeting notes from last week.”
4. Click Search. 
   
   

Dropbox AI will analyze the text within your files and return an answer, along with links to the relevant documents.

Tips for getting better search results with Answers

To get the clearest and most relevant answers, keep these best practices in mind when creating your prompt:

• Use full sentences. Single-word searches like “folders” or “PDFs” are vague and won’t register as questions.
• Start queries with a question word. Starting your question with words like “Who”, “What”, “When”, Where”, “Why” or “How” provides valuable structure that helps the AI return more relevant results.
• Start your prompt with “Summarize” to distill the key points from files.

These are just a few ways to get more out of Answers. If your results aren’t quite right, try rephrasing your prompt using natural language or adding a question mark to clarify your intent.

Here are some examples of well-formulated questions:

• Who is mentioned in the notes?
• What are key performance indicators are we measuring?
• When is the launch date for this product?
• Where can I find my stakeholder’s contact info?
• Why did we implement this feature?
• How are we measuring successful conversion?
• Are there any budget constraints I should be aware of?

Feel free to tweak these prompts as needed!