How to make an AI that answers from your own documents
People often call this “training an AI on my documents.” What you actually want is simpler and safer: an AI that reads your documents when it answers, sticks to them, and shows where each answer came from. Here’s how to set one up for free, and how to get the documents into shape.
Updated October 21, 2026
“Trained on” vs. “answers from”
Training changes the model itself; it’s slow, expensive, and the model can still blend your facts with everything else it knows. An AI that answers from your documents keeps them separate: each question is answered by reading your files, and it can say exactly which file and section it used. That’s the approach to want for rules, policies, manuals and FAQs. Hostlet works this way, and your files are never used to train AI models.
What you can give it
- PDFs, including scanned ones
- Word documents (.docx), Excel and other spreadsheets, PowerPoint (.pptx)
- Text, CSV, HTML and Markdown files
- Phone photos of paper: one page or hundreds, read by AI into one searchable document
- Plain notes you type in, which is the fastest way to fill gaps
Older Word files (.doc) need one extra step: open them in Word and save as .docx or PDF first.
Set it up in two minutes
- Name it at hostlet.ai. You get your-name.hostlet.ai instantly.
- Publish, then open Teach it and add your files.
- Decide who can ask: anyone with the link, people with a passcode, or only people you send a personal invite.
- Ask it ten real questions before you share it. Fix what it gets wrong by adding a short note.
Getting your documents ready
- One topic per file, clear names. “Parking Policy.pdf” and “Pool Rules.pdf” cite better than one 80-page “Everything.pdf.”
- Newest version only. Where documents conflict, the AI prefers the most recent and says they differ, but removing the old version avoids confusion.
- Write down the unwritten rules. The questions people ask most are often answered nowhere on paper (“Who do I call about the elevator?”). A one-paragraph note fixes that.
- Watch the unanswered list. Reports show the questions your documents couldn’t answer. Each one is a note waiting to be written.
Keeping it private
A private AI can’t be opened without a passcode or a personal invite, and it’s never listed anywhere on Hostlet. Even on a public AI, people get answers, not your files. On a private AI you can also let members add documents, either straight away or after you approve them.
Common questions
Is this the same as a custom GPT?
It’s similar in spirit: an AI set up around your material. The difference is that a Hostlet AI is a plain web link anyone can use without an account, cites its sources, and can sit on your website.
How many documents can it hold?
A few hundred pages of text per AI. For more, split by topic into separate AIs.
Will it make things up?
It’s instructed to answer only from your documents and to say when they don’t cover a question. Citations let people check every answer.
What does it cost?
Free for most: 200 questions a day per AI. Paid plans with more questions are coming soon.
Try it now.
Name it, publish, add your files. Free for most, no sign-up to start.