Which Google Drive file types does AskVault support for import?

Google Docs, Sheets (all tabs), and Slides (including speaker notes) via their native export, plus PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, images (via OCR), and plain text/HTML files shared as a direct Drive file link. Other formats — Stata, Parquet, SPSS, MATLAB, HDF5, R .rds, and zip archives — aren't supported; export those to CSV first.

Does AskVault need Google Drive OAuth access?

No. There's no Google sign-in. You paste the share link for one file at a time, and that file must be shared as 'Anyone with the link' so AskVault's fetch can read it without authenticating as you.

Can AskVault import a whole Google Drive folder at once?

No, not today. Each import brings in one file at a time — paste the share link for each file you want indexed.

Ingest knowledge from Google Drive

Written by Joseph Russo, Principal Architect, Networks and Tech, AskVault · Reviewed by Allison Chan

Last updated: September 3, 2026 · 3 min read

What gets imported

Per share link, by file type:

Google Docs. Full body, exported as text.
Google Sheets. Every sheet/tab, not just the first.
Google Slides. Slide text plus speaker notes.
PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX shared as a Drive file link.
Images (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP) — text extracted via OCR.
Plain text and HTML files.

What's not supported:

Stata, Parquet, SPSS, MATLAB, HDF5, R .rds, and zip/gzip archives. Export to CSV (or unzip) and share that instead.
A whole folder in one go. Import each file's link separately.
Files over 50 MB.

Setup

Under a minute per file:

In Google Drive, set the file's sharing to "Anyone with the link" (Viewer is enough).
Copy the share link.
Knowledge Hub > Add Source > Google Drive.
Paste the link.
Click Import.

Repeat per file. There's no bulk-folder import today — for many files, file upload with drag-and-drop is usually faster than pasting individual Drive links.

Refreshing content

There's no background sync. To pick up edits made in the Drive file:

Paste the same share link again and re-import.
The document is matched by URL, so if the content changed it's re-indexed; if it hasn't, nothing changes.

Use cases

Internal helpdesk. Share the "Employee Handbook" Doc's link so a Slack bot can answer HR questions from it.

Sales playbook. Import each objection-handling Doc individually so reps can query the bot.

Permissions

Because there's no OAuth, AskVault never "sees" your Drive account — it only fetches what the link itself grants:

Link must be "Anyone with the link." A Restricted link returns an error asking you to change sharing.
AskVault doesn't store your Google credentials — there's nothing to store, since no sign-in happens.

Limits

Files per import. 1 — one share link imports one file.
File size. 50 MB, before export/conversion.
Sync. None — paste the link again to refresh.

Common pitfalls

"It looks like that Google link is set to Restricted." Change the file's sharing to "Anyone with the link" in Drive, then re-paste.

"The Google Drive file you shared is no longer available." The file was deleted, moved, or unshared. Re-share and paste the new link.

Large spreadsheet fails. 50 MB cap applies to the exported file. Split the sheet or trim unused tabs/columns.

Unsupported file type. Stata, Parquet, SPSS, MATLAB, HDF5, and R .rds files aren't indexed — export to CSV and re-share.

FAQ

Does this work with Google Workspace accounts?

Yes — the file just needs to be link-shared; the underlying account type doesn't matter.

Can I import a shared Drive (Team Drive) file?

Yes, as long as the specific file's link is shared as "Anyone with the link."

Will edits I make in Drive show up automatically?

No — paste the share link again to re-import the updated content.

Can I import a whole folder?

Not in one step today. Paste each file's share link individually, or use file upload if you'd rather export and drag-and-drop.

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