Explorer
AI answering engine that searches across the entire knowledge graph at once, delivering streaming responses with inline visualizations.
The Explorer is Graph's AI answering engine, available at /graph/explorer. It provides a conversational interface for querying the entire ResearchArk knowledge graph. Rather than browsing manually, you type a question in natural language and receive a streaming AI-generated answer that draws on several complementary ways of searching the data at once -- connected relationships, conceptually related results, exact keyword matches, and aggregated statistics.
Two Display Modes
The Explorer operates in two modes that transition automatically:
Hero mode is the landing state. A centered search bar with personalized query suggestions is displayed on a clean page. Stats badges below the search bar show the current data scale (134K+ projects, 258K+ organizations, 515K+ publications, 9,400+ opportunities). Once you submit a query, the interface transitions to compact mode.
Compact mode activates after your first query. The search bar moves to the top of the page, and the layout splits into two panels. The left panel shows the conversation thread (your queries, source indicators, and AI-generated answers). The right panel -- the Generative UI Panel -- renders inline visualizations that the AI produces as part of its response.
AI Toggle
A toggle in the search bar switches between two modes:
- AI on -- The AI searches all data sources, combines the results, and streams back a natural-language answer. The answer may include inline visualizations that render as charts, tables, or statistics in the right panel.
- AI off -- Your query runs the same search across all data sources but returns the raw results without an AI-written answer. Results are displayed in a structured panel, useful when you want to see exactly what the data sources returned without AI interpretation.
Model Selection
The Explorer offers a range of AI models, selectable via a dropdown in the search bar. Which models you can choose depends on your account tier:
| AI Model | Tier Required | Cost Level |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Free | 1/5 |
| Enhanced | Beta+ | 2/5 |
| Advanced | Beta+ | 3/5 |
| Expert | Beta+ | 4/5 |
| Premium | Beta+ | 5/5 |
Free-tier users have access to the Standard model. Higher tiers unlock more capable AI models that offer improved reasoning and can handle longer, more detailed questions, but consume more resources. Models that aren't available on your plan appear with a lock indicator in the dropdown.
How Search Works
When you submit a query, the Explorer searches in four complementary ways at the same time:
- Keyword search -- Full-text search across project titles, abstracts, organization names, and other text fields.
- Semantic search -- AI-powered search that finds conceptually related content even when the wording differs from your query.
- Relationship search -- Follows the connections in the knowledge graph, linking projects, organizations, funding schemes, topics, and other entities.
- Statistics -- Aggregated figures such as funding totals, project counts, and distribution breakdowns.
Source indicators appear below your query as each search responds, showing which kinds of search contributed to the answer. This transparency helps you understand where the information came from.
Streaming Responses
Answers are streamed in real time as the AI generates them. During streaming, you see:
- A pulsing indicator while the data is being searched
- Source indicators showing which kinds of search responded (keyword, semantic, relationship, statistics)
- The answer text appearing progressively in the left panel
- Visualizations rendering in the right panel as the AI produces them
Inline Visualizations
The AI can embed visualizations within its response. These render as interactive components in the Generative UI Panel on the right side of the screen. Supported visualization types include:
- Bar charts -- Comparative data such as funding by country or projects by programme
- Pie charts -- Distribution breakdowns such as fund allocation or sector composition
- Tables -- Structured data with sortable columns
- Statistics cards -- Key metric highlights with labels and values
- Timelines -- Chronological progressions such as framework programme evolution
- Network graphs -- Relationship diagrams between entities
Visualizations are generated dynamically based on the query context. A question about funding distribution might produce a pie chart, while a question about programme history might produce a timeline.
Conversations and Follow-ups
The Explorer maintains a conversation thread within a session. After the initial answer, a follow-up input field appears. Follow-up questions carry the full conversation history, enabling context-aware responses -- for example, asking "What about in Germany specifically?" after an initial question about EU-wide funding patterns.
You can clear the conversation at any time using the clear button to start fresh.
Personalized Suggestions
When signed in, the Explorer fetches personalized query suggestions based on your profile and activity. These appear as clickable chips below the search bar in hero mode, providing quick-start queries tailored to your research interests.
Related Pages
- Projects -- Browse the underlying project data that Explorer searches
- Organizations -- Browse organization records directly
- Schemes -- Explore funding scheme analytics
- Researchers -- Topic exploration and sector insights dashboards
Graph
Research intelligence platform combining an AI answering engine, CORDIS knowledge graph, EU Cohesion Policy data, and international funding datasets covering 134,000+ projects, 258,000+ organizations, and 515,000+ publications.
Projects
Browse and filter EU-funded research projects across all framework programmes with search, sorting, URL-driven topic and scheme filtering, and grid or table view modes.