Accessing & Configuring Generative Search

Every strategy starts with questions – Generative Search has answers

This article explains how to access, configure, and customize Generative Search so you can get the most accurate, relevant, and actionable insights from your research. You’ll learn how to adjust Generative Search settings, understand available modes, and use newer features.

• What is Generative Search?
• How to Access Generative Search
• Configuring Generative Search Settings
  • Select an Appropriate Generative Search Mode
  • Use Select Docs to Analyze Specific Documents
  • Select Companies, Watchlists, Industries
  • Apply Specific Content Sources
    • Turning on Web Search
• Choose Your Preferred LLM Model
• Financial Data Integration into Generative Search

What is Generative Search?

Generative Search is an AI-powered research system that helps you answer complex business and financial questions through a conversational interface.

It retrieves and reasons across hundreds of millions of trusted qualitative and quantitative data points including filings, transcripts, sell-side research, expert interviews, financials, and other structured and unstructured sources to deliver clear insights, whether you need a quick answer or deep analysis.

How to Access Generative Search

Whenever you run a search in AlphaSense, AI-generated insights are powered by Generative Search. Because Generative Search is built directly into the platform, you can access and interact with it from multiple entry points, indicated by the sparkle icon throughout AlphaSense. 

Begin your research using natural language from the Generative Search homepage:

• Login to AlphaSense (you will land on the Generative Search homepage) OR
• Select the Generative Search sparkle icon from the lefthand tool bar. 
• Type a question into the Search bar.

Jump into Generative Search after running a traditional Document Search

• Select the magnifying glass icon from the lefthand tool bar.
• Run a search using the Keyword Search bar.
• View Generative Search's summary on the right-hand side.
• Select any summary or the "Open in Gen Search" at the bottom of the summary to launch Generative Search and ask any follow up questions.

Use Generative Search on a single document

• After conducting a search, open the desired document and select "Ask in Doc."
• Ask any natural language question.  If you're unsure, you can ask "Summarize this document."
• Review the results.

Configuring Generative Search Settings

Generative Search includes configurable settings that let you control how answers are generated, how much reasoning is applied, and which sources are included.

Select an Appropriate Generative Search Mode

Generative Search offers multiple modes to support different levels of analysis.

• Auto: automatically selects the appropriate level of reasoning based on your question.
• Think Longer: Applies deeper reasoning for more complex or multi-step questions to produce a more robust and refined answer (typically within 1–3 minutes). 
• Deep Research: Designed to produce comprehensive, analyst-grade research reports for in-depth research tasks such as market analysis, competitive comparisons, or company deep dives (takes 10+ minutes).

With Auto Mode enabled:

• Simple questions return fast, concise answers.
• More complex questions automatically trigger deeper analysis.
• Suggested follow-up questions help expand your research without rewriting prompts.

Auto Mode is ideal if you want Generative Search to adapt automatically without manually switching modes.

Note: You can also select Skip, View Fast Answer after submitting a query if you want quicker results.

Use Select Docs to Analyze Specific Documents

Use the Select Docs button to include specific documents in your Generative Search query. When you select Select Docs, a Document Selector window appears, allowing you to define the set of documents you want to analyze.

You can filter and refine your document universe using parameters such as company, watchlists, industries, keywords, tags, timeframe, integration points, and content sources.

Once you locate the documents you want to analyze:

• Select the + icon to add individual documents

• Select Add to include all documents currently shown in the results

After adding documents to your Generative Search query, you will automatically move into a Workspace to continue your analysis.

To learn more about working in Workspaces, refer to the related Help Center article.

Select Companies, Watchlists, Industries

Use the World icon to scope your Generative Search query to a specific company, watchlist, or industry.

Applying a scope helps narrow the analysis to the entities most relevant to your research, ensuring the response focuses on the companies or sectors you want to evaluate.

Apply Specific Content Sources

Use the Sources dropdown to control which content sets are included in your Generative Search query.

Select View All Sources to open the AlphaSense Sources menu, where you can further refine your search by selecting specific content types. This allows you to focus your analysis on the sources most relevant to your research.

Turning on Web Search

When using Generative Search you will have the ability to include Web Search to expand your research beyond the “walled garden” of premium, curated content within AlphaSense. 

When Web Search is turned on:

• The latest Gemini model helps find and organize relevant web results.
• Collected web content is sent to AlphaSense, where it is summarized, analyzed, and cited alongside other sources.

Web Search is useful when you need:

• The most recent publicly available information on company sites.
• Additional context beyond indexed AlphaSense content.
• Broader discovery for emerging topics or trends.

Note: Web Search is only available when using Think Longer or Deep Research.

Choose Your Preferred LLM Model in Account Settings

You can select the model that best fits your workflow and research needs.

Different models may prioritize:

• Faster responses
• Deeper reasoning
• More structured or detailed outputs

To update your preferred LLM model:

• Go to My Account (click your Initials in the bottom left corner)
• Select Preferences
• Scroll to Generative Search Model
• Select the preferred LLM model from the drop down

Note: For best results, keep Smart Default on so AlphaSense can automatically select the optimal model for each query. 

Financial Data Integration into Generative Search

Generative Search integrates structured financial data directly into AI-generated responses.

This allows you to:

• Ask natural-language questions about financial performance and trends.
• Combine qualitative insights with quantitative data in a single response.
• Receive answers grounded in both financial data and source documents.

Learn more about how this integration helps bridge traditional financial analysis with AI-powered research.