Dropbox is adding a range of handy new AI features – here’s what users can expect

Dropbox has announced a raft of new AI-powered features for users, including integration of its Dash AI assistant in the storage platform.

As part of the move, Dropbox said the Dash AI assistant will offer users “smarter search, intelligent organization, time-saving summaries, and contextual answers” for files hosted across the storage service.

The AI tool was first launched in 2023 as a standalone application, allowing users to search for files both within Dropbox and in third-party applications such as Slack, Google Workspace, or Jira.

So far, Dash has been restricted to selected customers. However, Dropbox said wider availability is “expected in the coming months”.

While an exact timeline on general availability has yet to be confirmed, the move marks a significant step toward full integration of AI capabilities in Dropbox.

So what can customers expect from the update?

Dropbox eyes intelligent storage search

Dropbox said Dash will improve ease of use and visibility of content and files stored across the service. Underpinning this is a natural language search function that lets users essentially describe the files and content they’re looking for.

Example queries touted by the company include insights on a company “content calendar for the Fall launch” or “what’s new in the latest version of the client proposal?”.

Thereafter, the AI assistant can provide document summaries, highlight specific data points within files related to the aforementioned prompts, or create a single overview of files stored across multiple locations.

“Because Dash in Dropbox learns from all the content you’ve already stored, you get powerful AI features within the familiar Dropbox experience you already know and trust,” the company said in a blog post.

“And the more you use Dropbox, the better Dash understands you and your team. The result: sharper search results, more relevant answers, and actually useful insights that help move work forward.”

Easy setup and multimodal features on the horizon

Integration of Dash within Dropbox will make the tool far more accessible for users, the company noted. As it was previously a standalone platform, customers were required to contact the company directly to request early access.

Users are now able to skip that step, however, and integration of the assistant takes just a few minutes.

“You don’t need to talk to our sales team to get started, and you can set everything up yourself in minutes,” Dropbox said. “Dash takes your scattered, siloed content and gives you a single source of truth, turning information overload into organized clarity.”

Alongside the announcement, Dropbox also confirmed plans to acquire AI startup Mobius Labs in a bid to ramp up multimodal capabilities in the storage platform.

Mobius Labs will help enhance in-app search features across a wider array of file formats, spanning audio, video, or images.

“The Mobius Labs team has been developing custom AI models optimized for large-scale multimedia processing,” the company said. “We'll soon be able to support even more complex workflows for search and answers in Dash.”

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