# Web Search

JARVIS answers most questions straight away. When an answer would be stale without a lookup, it
searches the live web and replies with sources you can open.

You can also just ask for a search whenever you want one.

## Normal questions

If live information is not needed, JARVIS answers directly — no search, no detour.

```text
What is a binary search tree?
Explain the CAP theorem.
How do I reverse a string in Python?
Why does ice float on water?
```

## Current information

For anything that changes over time, JARVIS searches when appropriate.

| Ask about | Example |
| --- | --- |
| Latest news | "What happened with the latest Node.js release?" |
| Current information | "What's the current status of the EU AI Act?" |
| Software versions | "What's the latest Python version?" |
| Recent events | "Any recent news about the Mars sample return mission?" |
| Prices | "What does a standing desk cost right now?" |
| Anything changing | "Is Postgres 18 out yet?" |

JARVIS knows the difference between *asking about something current* and *mentioning a current
word in passing*. "CNN is news" does not trigger a search. "What's the latest on CNN?" does.

## Explicit searches

Asking JARVIS to look something up triggers a search even when it could have answered from what it
already knows.

```text
Search this on Google.
Find the latest information about Node.js.
Look this up online.
Research current GPU pricing.
Google that for me.
```

The search phrase itself becomes the query — you don't have to clean your request up first. And a
quoted phrase is used exactly as written.

> [!NOTE]
> "Can you search the web?" is treated as a question about JARVIS's capability, not a request to
> search. JARVIS answers it and asks what you want to look up. No search is run.

## Follow-up questions

The results of the most recent search stay available as context for the rest of that conversation,
so follow-ups read naturally.

```text
You: Search for the latest Node.js news.
JARVIS: summary + sources

You: Which one is most important?
JARVIS: answers against those results

You: What does the second one change for us?
JARVIS: still grounded in the same results
```

You never have to repeat a search to keep talking about its results.

## Fresh information

Asking for an update triggers another search rather than reusing what it found before.

```text
You: Search for the latest on the SpaceKeep API.
JARVIS: answers with sources

You: Is there anything new about this?
JARVIS: searches again and reports what changed
```

## Sources

When JARVIS searches, the reply carries a compact source list — title, domain, and a link. The
answer refers back to those sources inline, so you can check any claim without hunting for it.

If a follow-up answers from earlier results, the same sources are attached again.

## When a search does not complete

Searching can fail. When it does, JARVIS does not go silent and it does not invent sources. It
tells you briefly that it could not reach the search, then answers from what it already knows and
notes that the answer may not reflect the latest details.

Every attempt — successful or not — is recorded on the
[Web Intelligence page](/jarvis/features/web-search/#activity-history).

## Turn searching off {#web-search-preference}

Searching is a preference on your account. Turn it off on the
[Web Intelligence page](/jarvis/features/web-search/#web-search-preference), or see
[Settings](/jarvis/account/settings/) for the rest of your preferences.

With search off, no lookups run at all. JARVIS answers from the conversation and from
[memories](/jarvis/features/memory/) you have saved.

## Activity history {#activity-history}

The **Web Intelligence** page at [jarvis.spacekeep.dev/web](https://jarvis.spacekeep.dev/web) shows
what JARVIS has looked up for your account:

- The query, the time, and how many results came back.
- Failures too, marked as such.
- An **Open** link that jumps straight to the conversation the lookup came from.
- **Clear history** to remove the log.

## Related

- [AI Assistant](/jarvis/features/assistant/) — when JARVIS reaches for a capability
- [Conversations](/jarvis/features/conversations/) — how searched exchanges are saved
- [Privacy](/jarvis/security/privacy/) — what a search sends and what is recorded