RAG semantic intelligence and document search

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for RAG semantic intelligence and document search within SmartERP.

Beyond keyword queries, SmartERP Documents Enterprise incorporates Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) powered by Gemini AI and vector embeddings. This allows users to converse directly with their organization's knowledge base and retrieve answers synthesized across hundreds of documents.

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2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: documents, smarterp_dms
• Security Groups:
  • Documents User (Technical ID: documents.group_documents_user)
  • Documents Administrator (Technical ID: documents.group_documents_manager)
• Master Data Dependencies: Workspace hierarchies, document tags, automated actions, OCR rule definitions, and retention policies.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the Documents app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open Documents → Workspaces → Finance / Legal / HR / Operations.

{screenshot:rag-and-ai-intelligence-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Document Title (Mandatory): Clear descriptive document name
   • Workspace Category (Mandatory): Target departmental archive workspace
   • Attachment File (Mandatory): Uploaded PDF, image, spreadsheet, or scan file
   • Document Owner (Mandatory): Employee or department responsible for custody
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Document Tags (Optional): Tax, audit, or confidentiality classification labels
   • Facial/OCR Extraction Template (Optional): Automated field mapping profile
   • Expiry Date (Optional): Statutory document retention expiration date
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:rag-and-ai-intelligence-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Uploaded → Indexed / OCR Processed → Tagged → Approved / Locked → Archived).
• Ledger & System Impact: Document metadata tags and financial attachments link directly to general ledger journal items and vendor bills for instant audit recall.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:rag-and-ai-intelligence-transaction-processing-state}

How RAG document intelligence works#

flowchart TD
    A[Document Uploaded] --> B[Text Chunking & Tokenization]
    B --> C[Gemini Embedding API]
    C --> D[(PostgreSQL pgvector / Vector Index)]
    
    E[User Asks: 'What are the delivery penalties in the 2026 Telecom contract?'] --> F[Query Embedding]
    F --> G[Cosine Similarity Search against Vectors]
    G --> H[Top 3 Relevant Contract Clauses Retrieved]
    H --> I[Synthesized Answer with Exact Source Citations]
    D -.-> G

Key capabilities#

• Natural Language Search: Find documents by meaning rather than exact keywords (e.g., searching "employee vehicle policy" retrieves documents titled "Automobile Fleet Operating Guidelines").
• Interactive Q&A: Ask questions about complex legal contracts or internal policy manuals and receive direct answers accompanied by page-number citations.
• Multilingual Queries: Inquire in Amharic about documents written in English, and receive synthesized answers in Amharic with translated context.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • Documents: Run OCR field extraction (documents.ir_cron_ocr_process): Runs every 15 minutes to process incoming scanned document text
  • Documents: Archive expired records (documents.ir_cron_retention): Runs weekly to enforce statutory document retention schedules
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Document Audit Trail & Access Log
  • Workspace Document Storage & Activity Ledger
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#