Uploading to Knowledge Base
Add documents to your organization's Knowledge Base so your team — and the AI — can work from the same trusted material. This page explains who can upload, how the upload works, which permission level to pick, and which file types and limits apply.
Who Can Upload
The Knowledge Base appears in the sidebar under Platform only for certain roles. By default, if you can open the page, you can also upload to it.
| Role | Can upload? | Where they can upload |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Yes | Any department in the organization |
| Executive | Yes | Any department in the organization |
| Department Manager (of a top-level department) | Yes | Department-level documents only into the hierarchy they manage |
| Member | Not from this page | — |
Your organization can also give the Knowledge Base to other people through a custom role — see Roles & Permissions. Uploading is allowed separately from opening the page: if your role does not include it, there is no Upload Document button.
Department Manager here means a member who manages a top-level (root) department. A member who manages only a sub-department does not see the Knowledge Base in the sidebar. In the upload dialog, a manager only sees the departments they are responsible for, while Admins and Executives see the whole organization.
Don't see Knowledge Base in your sidebar? Your role doesn't have access to the organization-wide Knowledge Base. You can still keep your own files in My Documents.
Supported Files and Limits
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| File types | PDF, Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xlsx), PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx), text, CSV, Markdown, images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP) and audio (MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, FLAC, WebM) |
| Size per file | Up to 50 MB each |
| Files per upload | Up to 20 files at a time |
| Empty files | Not accepted — a 0-byte file is rejected |
| Duplicates | A file that is already in the Knowledge Base at the same level is rejected |
The upload dialog repeats the essentials for you: "PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, TXT, PNG, JPG up to 50MB each (max 20 files)".
Uploads are limited per hour, and your plan also sets a maximum number of documents. If you hit either one, wait and try again later, or contact your Admin about upgrading the plan.
How to Upload
- Open Knowledge Base from the sidebar.
- Click Upload Document at the top right. The Upload Document dialog opens.
- Add your files:
- Drag them onto the box marked "Drag and drop files here", or
- Click the box ("or click to browse") and pick files from your computer.
- Check the selection. The box now shows how many files are selected ("3 files selected") and "Click to add more (max 20)", and each file is listed with its name and size. Click the × next to a file to remove it, or click the box again to add more.
- Choose the Permission Level — this decides who can see the document.
- If you chose Department, also choose the Target Department.
- Click Upload. The button reads Upload for a single file and Upload {N} Files when you selected several.
While the upload runs, the button changes to Uploading.... Use Cancel, the × in the corner or the Esc key to close the dialog before you start the upload. Clicking outside the dialog does not close it, so a stray click cannot throw away your selection.
Choosing the Permission Level
Permission Level answers one question: "Choose who can view this document". The dialog offers four options.
| Option in the dropdown | Who can see the document | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Personal - Only you can access | Only you — nobody else, not even an Admin | Drafts, personal notes, working files |
| Department - Department members can access | Members of the department you select | Department policies, procedures, templates |
| Organization - Everyone in organization can access | Everyone in your organization | Handbook, company-wide policies, announcements |
| Confidential - Restricted access, authorized users only | Admins and Executives only | Financial reports, legal documents, sensitive material |
Organization is selected by default. Change it before uploading if the document isn't meant for everyone.
Permission level is the only thing standing between a document and the wrong reader — and it applies to AI answers too. A person never receives content from a document they aren't allowed to see, so putting sensitive material at Organization level makes it available to everyone, in the list and in chat.
A fifth level, Team, exists but is not offered while uploading. To use it, upload the document first, then change its level in the document's detail panel. See Access Levels for the full picture and for how to change a level later.
Choosing the Target Department
The Target Department field appears only when the Permission Level is Department.
- The dropdown starts with Select a department... and lists your organization's departments, with sub-departments shown indented under their parent.
- Helper text under the field: "Select which department this document belongs to".
- The Upload button stays disabled until you pick a department.
- Admins and Executives see every department. Managers see only the departments in the hierarchy they manage.
Uploading Several Files at Once
There is no separate bulk-upload button — selecting several files in the same dialog is all you need.
- Select up to 20 files, then click Upload {N} Files. If you add more than 20, only the first 20 are kept in the selection.
- A progress window opens so you can watch the upload, and you can stop it with Cancel Upload while it's running. Cancelling undoes the whole batch: files from this batch that had already gone up are removed again.
- Every file in the batch gets the same Permission Level (and the same Target Department, if you chose Department).
- When the batch finishes, the window shows Upload Complete and the result. Files that did not go through are listed under Failed files: with a reason, such as Already uploaded.
Uploading a mixed set? Group files by who should see them and run one upload per permission level. That's faster than uploading everything and fixing levels afterwards.
After the Upload
Once a document is uploaded:
- It appears in the Knowledge Base list with a permission badge showing its level.
- People who are allowed to see it can find it by name and open, preview, or download it — see Searching the Knowledge Base.
- The AI can use it when answering questions, always within each person's own access level.
- A single successful upload confirms with "Document uploaded successfully".
Reading status in the list
After the upload, Arketic reads the text out of the file so the AI can use it. A document that was read without problems shows nothing extra. Otherwise a small badge appears next to the document's name:
| Badge | What it means |
|---|---|
| Indexing… (grey) | The file is still being read — the AI cannot use it yet. The badge disappears on its own when it is ready |
| Unreadable (amber) | The text could not be read — the AI cannot use this file |
| Not indexed (amber) | The text was read, but the file could not be made searchable for the AI |
| No text (amber) | No readable text was found — probably a scan without OCR |
Hover over a badge to read the full explanation. Next to an amber badge there is a small retry button (circular arrow): click it to have the file read again. A message then tells you whether it worked.
Images upload successfully even when the text inside the picture can't be read. The file is still stored, and you can open and download it as usual — but it carries the No text badge until it has been read.
Messages You May See
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "{n} files rejected. Empty files or unsupported types are not allowed." | One or more files you picked were empty or in a format that isn't supported. They were left out of the selection | Check the file type and make sure the file isn't 0 bytes |
| "This file has already been uploaded" | The same file is already in the Knowledge Base | Search for the existing copy instead of uploading again |
| "Failed to upload document" | The upload was refused for another reason — for example the file is over 50 MB, the plan's document limit or the hourly upload limit is reached, or you chose a department you don't manage | Check the file size and the department, wait a while, or talk to your Admin about the plan |
Best Practices
- Start with the foundational documents — handbook, HR policies, IT procedures. These answer the most questions.
- Set the permission level deliberately. Default is Organization; confidential material belongs at Confidential.
- Use clear file names. "Employee-Handbook-2026.pdf" is far more useful than "handbook_final_v3.pdf" — the Knowledge Base search looks at document names.
- Keep content current. An outdated document produces outdated AI answers.
- Remove the old version when you upload a replacement, so the AI doesn't work from two conflicting sources.
- Upload in batches by department so you can pick the right Target Department once per batch.
- Check the list after uploading scans. An amber badge means the AI cannot use that file yet.