Upload course materials
Which file types work, how uploading works, and how your assistant turns documents into answers.
This is where your assistant actually learns. Upload the documents you want it to answer from, and it reads every page so it can find the right passage when a student asks.
What you can upload
Readings, articles, textbook chapters, problem sets.
Word
.docx documents — notes, handouts, syllabi.
PowerPoint
.pptx slide decks, including your speaker notes.
Text & Markdown
Plain .txt and .md notes.
Spreadsheets & data
.csv and .json files.
How to upload
Open your assistant
From the dashboard, click the assistant you want to add materials to.
Add files
Go to the materials area and click Upload, then choose your files. You can select several at once.
Wait for processing
After uploading, each file is read and indexed in the background. You’ll see its status change to ready when it’s done. Large files take a little longer.
What happens behind the scenes
You don’t need to understand this to use it, but here’s the gist:
It reads the text
The assistant pulls the readable text out of your document — including slide boundaries and speaker notes for PowerPoint.
It breaks it into pieces
Long documents are split into smaller passages so the assistant can pinpoint the exact relevant part later.
It builds a searchable memory
Each passage is indexed so that, when a student asks a question, the assistant can instantly find the passages that matter and answer from them.
This is why answers can cite the specific file (and part of the file) they came from.
Managing your materials
- Remove a file any time — the assistant immediately forgets it.
- Add more whenever your course evolves. New uploads are available as soon as they finish processing.
- The same file can be shared across multiple assistants if you teach related courses.
Next: Add website content
Point your assistant at a course website instead of downloading pages.