Cloud-based file-sharing company Dropbox Inc. announced new artificial intelligence-based features today that will make it easier for customers to discover all their files and information in one place, summarize information embedded in them and get questions answered.

Dropbox is best known for its file-sharing service that stores files in the cloud and allows users to synchronize them on any device. It allows companies to store and organize large numbers of files quickly across vast distances, but not all data in a workflow is contained in file folders or on one hard drive.

Starting today, customers will get access to a new service called Dropbox Dash, an AI-powered universal search that connects all of the tools, content and apps that customers use on a daily basis. That includes connectors to apps such as Google Workplace, Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce, allowing users to find whatever they’re looking for without needing to toggle between apps to discover it.

According to Dropbox, Dash is powered by machine learning and will “learn, evolve and improve,” as customers use it. Allowing it to adjust to user preferences and follow up on everyday uses, meaning that it will get faster when looking up information that is sought often.

Dash also includes a number of other features such as a start page that allows users to access the universal search, get shortcuts to recent work and get back to work on projects.

The product also provides a function called Stacks, which are smart collections that organize content in lists that allows users a way to save, organize and retrieve links. Dropbox compared the feature to playlists for songs, saying Stacks provides users a way to contextually organize their cloud content.

“AI chatbots that have captured our imaginations are incredibly powerful but come with a major limitation: When you ask a question about yourself, your content, or your company, these chatbots can’t answer it because they aren’t connected to your information,” said Drew Houston, co-founder and chief executive of Dropbox. “Dropbox is filling that gap by building personalized AI.”

Dropbox Dash will soon be able to pull information from customers’ files and their company’s information and use generative AI, similar to OpenAI LP’s ChatGPT, to answer questions about the content. It will be possible to ask Dash a question such as, “When is the next company holiday?” and it will be able to retrieve the answer.

The next product Dropbox announced is Dropbox AI, which applies AI to file previews to quickly summarize the contents of documents or video files into a quick blurb – meaning that users don’t need to read or watch the entire thing. Users will also be able to ask a question about the document in question and get an answer. Soon Dropbox AI will be expanded to entire folders.

Dropbox AI is currently available for file previews for Dropbox Pro users in the U.S. and will soon roll out to select Dropbox Teams users to test. Dropbox Dash is also available for select users in beta, with signups on the website.

Alongside the early access release of the company’s AI tools, the company also announced the launch of a new $50 million investment initiative called Dropbox Ventures. As part of the new venture, Dropbox will focus on the next generation of startups transforming work by transforming work and applying AI by delivering financial support, mentorship and potential exposure to the company’s already existing customers and ecosystem.

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