Plans to merge Global Search with Discourse AI for a Chat-based UI?

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Hi team,

Is there a plan to eventually combine the standard search bar and Discourse AI into a single AI-driven chat interface?

Also, are there any updates on displaying sources/citations from forum topics in a more integrated way, similar to how NotebookLM handles document sources?

To provide context on why this is critical, we are currently developing a high-value use case that requires Discourse to function as an Expert AI Consulting Hub (accessible via Chat.Domain-Discourse.com). Here is our vision:

1. Integration with Structured Business Data (RAG + CRM)

We aim to connect Discourse AI with our specialized Real Estate CRM (crm.Domain-Discourse.com). This would allow the AI to provide real-time, analytical answers based on:

  • Live Listings: Real-time data updated by agents (property details, owner information).

  • Project Progress: Updates on real estate developments.

  • Infrastructure Intelligence: Analyzing neighborhood data regarding commerce, utilities, traffic, education, and healthcare.

2. Expert-Led Training (The “Human-in-the-loop” Model)

Our AI is not just a general LLM; it is being trained by a network of 200+ real estate experts specializing in market analysis and commercial property.

  • These experts bring successful case studies, high-level certifications, and years of experience.

  • They are preparing curated scripts and historical consulting scenarios to refine the AI’s logic.

3. Monetization & Professional Advisory

This is a paid consulting service. Our users are not just “searching for keywords”; they are paying for a professional advisory experience.

Why a Unified Chat UI is Essential:

A standard search bar is designed for “finding information,” whereas our model requires “consulting.”

  • Complex Reasoning: Users ask deep questions about market trends that require multi-turn conversations.

  • Source Transparency: For paid advice, users must see exactly which CRM data point or expert-written topic the answer is derived from (the “NotebookLM” experience).

Questions for the developers:

  1. Is the roadmap leaning towards supporting these types of deep integrations (CRM/External APIs) within a unified Chat UI?

  2. Are there plans to allow the AI to link directly to structured data or specific expert-curated topics as “Primary Sources”?

I believe this evolution would transform Discourse from a traditional forum into a powerful, interactive knowledge base for professional industries.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Thanks!

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There’s not currently a plan, but we do have a number of search-related AI features… so it’s interesting to consider. Current tools include:

  • Personas like Forum Researcher, which can search using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). This is from the AI Bot link to https://meta.discourse.org/discourse-ai/ai-bot/conversations and can also be used in Discourse chat.

  • AI embeddings semantic search, these are search results that appear on full-page /search

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  • AI embeddings quick search, which is used to populate results in the search dropdown. This is especially useful for populating results in searches that would otherwise produce 0 results, like typos.

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  • Discobot Discoveries, which is additional sidebar content to searches in both the dropdown and full page

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There are some tradeoffs with AI-first approaches, traditional search is still a good amount faster than RAG… but perhaps in cases like yours that’s ok and the search bar could be swapped out for an input that directly populates a query for the AI conversation page or a bot chat? Something like that would be possible to do from a theme component.

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