'Not Able to Answer' Error in Fact Explorer

Last updated: February 23, 2026

Why Fact Explorer Says "Not Able to Answer" and How to Get Better Results

Quick answer: When Fact Explorer returns "Not able to answer," it usually means the information you are looking for is not contained in the documents uploaded to that matter. This is not an error -- it is Mary telling you she could not find a match. Try rephrasing your question, being more specific, or checking that the relevant documents have been uploaded.

If you are trying to find specific information in your documents, Fact Explorer may be the fastest route. Ask Mary a direct question and she will find the answer with full source references -- no scrolling required. Look for the Fact Explorer tab on your matter.

What This Message Means

Fact Explorer searches through every document uploaded to your matter to find information that answers your question. When it returns "Not able to answer the user's query," it means one of the following:

  1. The information is not in your documents. This is the most common cause. For example, if you ask "What was the claimant's blood alcohol level?" but no uploaded document contains that information, Fact Explorer cannot answer.

  2. The question was too broad or ambiguous for Fact Explorer to match. Very general questions sometimes fail to return results even when the information exists across multiple documents.

  3. You asked Fact Explorer to draft a document or perform a similar task. Fact Explorer is designed to answer questions about your uploaded documents. It currently does not support drafting documents, writing letters, or similar generative tasks. If you see this message after requesting a draft, try rephrasing your query as a factual question instead.

This message is not a system error. Fact Explorer is working correctly -- it is telling you it could not find what you asked for.

How to Get Better Results

1. Rephrase Your Question

Different wording can produce different results. Fact Explorer matches your question against the content of your documents, so using language closer to what appears in the documents helps.

For example, on a workers compensation matter:

  • Instead of: "What happened to the worker?" (too vague)

  • Try: "What injury did the claimant sustain on the date of incident?"

2. Be More Specific

Narrow your question to a particular event, date, person, or document type. Specific questions give Fact Explorer a clearer target.

For example, on a family law matter:

  • Instead of: "What are the financial arrangements?"

  • Try: "What was the value of the property at 42 Smith Street as stated in the valuation report?"

3. Check That the Relevant Documents Were Uploaded

Fact Explorer can only search documents that are part of the matter. If the information you need is in a document that was not uploaded, Fact Explorer will not find it.

Go to your matter's document list and confirm that the relevant file is there. If it is missing, upload it using Add More Documents, then try your question again.

4. Ask in a New Conversation

If you have recently had documents added or changes made to your matter by our support team, ask your question as a new question rather than following up in an old conversation thread. Older conversations may not reflect recent changes to your matter's document set.

Known Limitations

Limitations to be aware of:

  • Fact Explorer searches the text content of your documents. Mary will typically tell you if it cannot read a file, but sometimes it will attempt to process documents with poor OCR quality (common with older handwritten records) — please be mindful that results from such documents may be less accurate.

  • Fact Explorer does not support drafting documents, writing letters, or similar generative tasks. It is designed to answer factual questions about your uploaded documents.

If This Doesn't Work

If you are certain the information exists in your uploaded documents and Fact Explorer still cannot find it after rephrasing:

  1. Note down the exact question you asked.

  2. Identify the specific document and page where the information appears.

  3. Email support@marytechnology.com with your matter URL, the question, and the document reference. Our team will investigate whether there is a technical issue with how your documents were processed.

In rare cases, matters that were created before Fact Explorer launched may need an update on our end to make their documents searchable. Our team can resolve this if it applies to your matter.

Contact us at support@marytechnology.com.