This is part of an upcoming release for Absorb Aura. More information can be found in the Release Notes.
Aura Learner Agent can answer Learner questions using your organization's Global Resources, not just Course content. This is an opt-in feature that System Admins control from Aura settings. Once enabled, Aura indexes your organization's Global Resources and cites them when they inform a Learner's answer. This article covers how to enable and disable the Global Resources sync, which file types are supported, how citations work, and how availability and notifications are handled.
Enable the Global Resources Sync
The Global Resources sync is off by default and must be turned on by a System Admin. Turning it on runs a one-time background sync of your organization's existing Global Resources and automatically indexes new Global Resources for as long as the sync stays enabled. Enabling this feature does not consume Aura credits.
In the Admin Experience, follow these steps to enable the Global Resources sync:
- Click Client Settings in the Account menu.
- Click the Aura configuration tile.
- Enable the Global Resources sync toggle in the Learner Agent section.
- Review the confirmation message in the new window and click Enable and sync.
- Click Save.
Once confirmed, the background sync begins automatically. You will receive a sync-completion email once the initial sync finishes. For more information, see the Notifications section below.
Supported File Types
Aura can extract and answer from the following Global Resource file types:
- Word
- PowerPoint
- Excel
- RTF
- OpenDocument formats
- Video and audio files
- Text files
Image-only files have no extractable text and cannot be answered from by Aura. Third-party lessons are not supported.
How Aura Answers From Global Resources
When a Learner asks Aura a question, Aura searches accessible Global Resources alongside its other sources and answers in natural language, grounded in the retrieved content. Referenced resources appear as chips in a Sources section below the response. Each chip is labeled with the resource name, and clicking a chip opens that resource.
If a topic is covered in both a Course and a Global Resource, Aura draws on both and cites both under Sources. If no accessible content matches the question, Aura returns its standard message indicating no matching content was found, rather than generating an unsupported answer.
Availability and Learner Access
Aura respects your Portal's existing Global Resource availability rules. Learners only receive answers grounded in resources they are already permitted to access; this feature does not introduce a separate availability model. For information on setting availability rules, see your Portal's Global Resources configuration.
Global Resources are a distinct feature from External Knowledge connectors, such as SharePoint or Google Drive. For more information on connecting external knowledge sources, see the Aura Learner Agent: External Knowledge article.
Disable the Global Resources Sync
Turning off the Global Resources sync removes Global Resource content from Aura's index. Learners will no longer receive answers grounded in Global Resources once the sync is disabled.
In the Admin Experience, follow these steps to disable the Global Resources sync:
- Click Client Settings in the Account menu.
- Click the Aura configuration tile.
- Disable the Global Resources sync toggle.
- Confirm the disable action in the dialog that appears.
- Click Save.
A confirmation message appears once Global Resource content has been removed from Aura's index.
Notifications
System Admins receive two types of notifications related to the Global Resources sync:
- A sync-completion email, sent once the initial background sync finishes.
- A weekly extraction status email, summarizing ongoing indexing activity, including any resources that failed to extract.
These notifications are sent only to System Admins.
Troubleshooting a Failed Sync
If extraction fails for a Global Resource, the Global Resources sync toggle shows a failed state. Aura automatically attempts one retry before marking a resource as failed. Failed resources are listed by name in the weekly extraction status email so System Admins can review and address them.
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