For Zensical & Material for MkDocs

Ask AI for your Zensical site

Q: Does it work with Zensical?

Yes. Zensical supports the same custom_dir template overrides as Material for MkDocs, so you add the widget through a small overrides/main.html that extends base.html. Configure it in zensical.toml or your existing mkdocs.yml.

Q: I'm migrating from Material for MkDocs. Does my widget still work?

Yes. Zensical natively understands mkdocs.yml and existing template overrides, so a Biel widget installed on Material for MkDocs carries over with no changes. Point custom_dir at your overrides directory and rebuild.

Q: What about the keyboard shortcuts?

Like Material for MkDocs, Zensical registers f, s, /, p, n shortcuts. The install guide includes a small extra_javascript shim that releases those keys so they do not fight the chat input.

Drop in a page-search widget with Ask AI and a separate chatbot through a template override. Includes source-linked answers and Content Gaps. Works with the Material for MkDocs successor.

Add Biel to Zensical See the install code

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Biel.ai chatbot

Assistant

Hi! how can I help you?

Three ways to ship Biel on Zensical

A floating Ask AI chatbot, a page-search input with an Ask AI handoff, or a hosted MCP endpoint Claude and Cursor can query directly.

Full installation guide

Add the chatbot via a custom_dir override

Zensical supports the same template overrides as Material for MkDocs. Create overrides/main.html, drop the widget into a Jinja block, and point zensical.toml at it (or your existing mkdocs.yml).

→Floating Ask AI button on every page
→Five button positions, dark or light
→Configured in zensical.toml or mkdocs.yml
→Reads your existing Material overrides

overrides/main.html

# 1. Add to zensical.toml:
#   [project.theme]
#   custom_dir = "overrides"

{% extends "base.html" %}

{% block extrahead %}
<link rel="stylesheet"
  href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.css">
<script type="module"
  src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.esm.js">
</script>
{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
{{ super() }}
<biel-button
  project="<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>"
  header-title="Documentation AI"
  button-position="bottom-right"
  modal-position="bottom-right"
  button-style="dark">
    Ask AI
</biel-button>
{% endblock %}

Add the search widget with Ask AI

Same template override, swap the component. <biel-search-button> renders a search input that returns matching pages and offers an Ask AI handoff to the chatbot.

→Drop-in page-search field
→Page results with an Ask AI handoff
→Runs alongside Zensical's built-in search
→Same Jinja override, different element

overrides/main.html

{% extends "base.html" %}

{% block extrahead %}
<link rel="stylesheet"
  href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.css">
<script type="module"
  src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/biel-search/dist/biel-search/biel-search.esm.js">
</script>
{% endblock %}

{% block header %}
{{ super() }}
<biel-search-button
  project="<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>"
  header-title="Documentation AI"
  button-style="rounded">
    Search
</biel-search-button>
{% endblock %}

Make your docs queryable by AI agents

Every Biel project ships with a hosted MCP endpoint. Claude, Cursor, Cline, and other MCP-compatible assistants can search your Zensical site directly. Configure once in mcp.json or your editor’s MCP settings.

→Hosted MCP server, no self-hosting
→Same index as the chatbot, one source of truth
→Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Zed
→Auth via project token, scoped per-workspace

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "biel-ai": {
      "name": "Biel.ai",
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.biel.ai/v2/YOUR_PROJECT_SLUG/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Biel.ai vs Zensical's built-in search

Honest read. Zensical's built-in search is fast and free. Biel provides its own page-search widget plus an Ask AI handoff to the chatbot. Many docs sites run both.

Dimension	Zensical search	Biel.ai
Query type	Keyword and prefix matching, run client-side.	Keyword page results, with Ask AI for natural-language questions and source-linked answers.
Source attribution	A list of pages and headings where the keyword appears.	Direct answer plus a link to the specific page and section it came from.
Migrating from Material for MkDocs	Zensical reads your existing mkdocs.yml and template overrides.	A Biel widget installed on Material for MkDocs carries over unchanged.
Keyboard shortcuts	f, s, /, p, n shortcuts hijack input fields globally; can fight third-party widgets.	Ships with a small shim that releases keystrokes when the chat is focused.
Analytics	No content-gap signal out of the box.	Unanswered questions, satisfaction trends, and a Content Gaps view that updates daily.
Languages	Search stemming covers a fixed set of language packs.	Answers in 60+ languages, including languages your docs are not written in.
Install	Built into Zensical. No install required.	Template override at overrides/main.html. Live in 15 minutes.
Cost	Free, included with Zensical.	Self-serve. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

Things teams ask during evaluation

Does it work with Zensical?

Yes. Zensical supports the same custom_dir template overrides as Material for MkDocs, so you add the widget through a small overrides/main.html that extends base.html. Configure it in zensical.toml or your existing mkdocs.yml.

I'm migrating from Material for MkDocs. Does my widget still work?

Yes. Zensical natively understands mkdocs.yml and existing template overrides, so a Biel widget installed on Material for MkDocs carries over with no changes. Point custom_dir at your overrides directory and rebuild.

Can we keep Zensical's built-in search?

Yes. Keep Zensical search, replace it with Biel's page-search widget, or run both. The Biel chatbot remains a separate surface, and Ask AI can carry a search query into it.

What about the keyboard shortcuts?

Like Material for MkDocs, Zensical registers f, s, /, p, n shortcuts. The install guide includes a small extra_javascript shim that releases those keys so they do not fight the chat input.

What languages does it support?

Readers can ask in 60+ languages even if your docs only ship in English, and answers come back in the language they asked in, with citations resolving to the right page.

Make your Zensical site answer questions

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Use a different platform? See our integration pages for MkDocs, Starlight, Docusaurus, Sphinx, and Antora.