Web search
Web search is a tool: when enabled, Genesis can search the public web during a session to answer questions with current information and cite sources.
Default provider and zero-data retention
The default search provider is configured for zero data retention (ZDR): your queries are forwarded to the provider, results come back, and the provider does not keep your query or results. This keeps web-connected search usable without handing your working context to a third party for storage.
Nothing about the search flow requires a provider account of your own — the machine's built-in configuration covers it.
Providers
Owner only.
Web search can use an alternative provider (for example Brave) instead of the default:
- Get an API key from the provider.
- In Settings → Web search, add the provider and its key.
- Choose the active provider for the machine.
Which provider you pick changes who processes the queries. The default provider's zero-data-retention behavior is the strongest privacy posture; third-party providers have their own retention policies — check them before switching a machine that handles sensitive work.
What it can and cannot do
- It searches the public web; it cannot read pages behind your logins.
- Results are cited in the session so you can check the source.
- Turning the tool off for a session removes web access entirely from that session.