Why Your AI Needs File Search (And How to Build It)

How do you turn a generic AI assistant into an assistant that can use your business data and tools? In this Microsoft Foundry demo, I explain AI tools in simple terms and demonstrate three capabilities: 📁 File Search — retrieve relevant information from your uploaded documents. 🌐 Web Search — find information from the web to support responses. ⚙️ Function Tool — let the assistant request custom code execution to perform a task or retrieve information. Follow along as we explore how these tools give an assistant access to information and capabilities beyond its built-in knowledge. You’ll learn: • What tools mean in AI and why assistants use them • How file search and web search serve different purposes • How function calling connects an assistant to custom functionality • How these capabilities support a more domain-aware assistant Tools provide access to external context and actions; they don’t retrain the underlying model. Whether you’re a student, software engineer, or developer starting with AI agents, this episode connects the concepts to a practical Microsoft Foundry demonstration. 💬 What would you connect your AI assistant to first: documents, the web, or a business function? Subscribe for more practical AI and agent development tutorials. #MicrosoftFoundry #AITools #AIAgents