File Upload
AI funding and usage
AI included uses REDA credits. Bring your own AI uses your organisation’s provider account, billed directly by that provider. The licence selects one funding model for the organisation. In either model, REDA AI governs configured tools and actions in Salesforce. Set up your licence and AI accounts.
In customer-account mode, the selected model determines which Deep Reasoning levels and capabilities are available. Review the AI Account selector’s supported levels and warnings; do not assume every provider supports the same combination. Admin AI tools and document processing use the organisation default connection. Configure the default and test the workflow.
This page covers user-initiated file upload — what happens when a user attaches a file inside a chat. For the broader platform capability that lets agents ingest files arriving from email, Flows, the API or messaging channels — including the file processor pipeline, large-file delivery and the three wiring patterns — see Document Processing.
What is File Upload?
File Upload lets users attach documents, images, spreadsheets, and data files to their conversations. The agent processes the file content and can:
- Answer questions about the file contents
- Summarize documents and extract key information
- Import CSV data into Salesforce records
- Analyze images and screenshots
- Link uploaded files to Salesforce records
Supported File Types
| File Type | Extensions | What the Agent Can Do |
|---|---|---|
.pdf |
Read and summarize documents, extract data, answer questions about content | |
| CSV | .csv |
Read tabular data, answer questions, import rows as Salesforce records |
| Images | .png, .jpg, .jpeg |
Analyze images, read text in screenshots, describe visual content |
| Text | .txt |
Read and analyze plain text content |
| JSON | .json |
Parse and analyze structured data |
The list of allowed extensions is configurable in Platform Settings. See Configuration below.
Enabling File Upload
-
Open the Agent Definition
Navigate to the REDAAI Agent Definition record.
-
Check Allow File Upload
The Allow File Upload checkbox is enabled by default on new agents. Verify it is checked.
-
(Optional) Set Supported File Types
If you want to restrict which file types this specific agent accepts, set the Supported File Types field (comma-separated extensions). Leave blank to use the global allowlist from Platform Settings.
-
(Optional) Enable Auto-Execute File Actions
Check Auto Execute File Actions to let the agent automatically perform actions on uploaded files (e.g. importing CSV data) without asking for confirmation first.
How Users Upload Files
In the chat interface (Internal channel), users click the attachment icon next to the message input to select one or more files — up to 5 per message. Each attachment appears as a chip (with its filename) that can be removed individually before sending. The files are uploaded to Salesforce as ContentVersion records, then the agent processes their contents.
Users can also drag and drop files into the chat area on supported browsers.
Community portal widget. Signed-in portal (Experience Cloud) users upload files the same way — a paperclip button in the message bar, up to 5 files per message. Each attached file appears as a named chip on the sent message. Files uploaded in the portal are automatically associated with the signed-in customer's Contact record, so your team can find them from the customer's record later. The paperclip button appears only when the agent has Allow File Upload enabled.
- User uploads
tenants.csvand types “Import these tenants as Contact records” - The agent reads the CSV, identifies column headers, and maps them to Contact fields
- The agent creates Contact records for each row (with confirmation unless auto-execute is enabled)
- The agent reports the results: how many records were created successfully
File Linking
When the link_file_to_record tool is assigned to the agent, the agent can attach uploaded files to Salesforce records. For example, a user might upload an invoice PDF and ask the agent to attach it to a specific Account or Opportunity record.
In the community portal, an uploaded file is linked to the customer's Contact automatically. In addition, the assistant can attach the same file to a related record when asked — for example, to a Case it raises for the customer. For a portal agent, keep this scoped to the customer's own records (their Contact, Account, or Cases) so customers can only affect their own data.
Configuration
File upload behavior is controlled through Platform Settings in the REDA AI Admin panel:
| Setting | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max File Size (MB) | 5 | 1 – 25 | Maximum file size allowed for uploads. Files exceeding this limit are rejected. |
| Allowed File Extensions | pdf,csv,png,jpg,jpeg,txt,json |
— | Comma-separated list of permitted file extensions. Files with other extensions are rejected. |
| Max CSV Characters | 50,000 | 10,000 – 200,000 | Maximum character count for CSV file content. CSVs exceeding this limit return an error. |
| File Processing Credit Multiplier | Configurable | — | Expands the maximum output token limit for file processing requests. Higher values allow more detailed analysis at increased credit cost. |
Agent Definition Settings
Per-agent file upload settings on the Agent Definition record:
| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Allow File Upload | Enabled | Master toggle for file upload on this agent |
| Supported File Types | (blank — uses global setting) | Override the global allowed extensions for this agent only |
| Auto Execute File Actions | Disabled | When enabled, the agent acts on files immediately without asking for confirmation |
Credit Impact
File uploads increase the number of input tokens in a conversation because the file content is sent to the AI for processing. Larger files use more tokens and therefore more credits.
- Text and CSV files — token count is proportional to character count
- PDF and images — processed as multimodal content, which uses more tokens per unit of content
- Credit Multiplier — the File Processing Credit Multiplier setting increases the output token budget for file-related responses, allowing more detailed analysis
For large CSV files, consider breaking them into smaller batches before uploading. The Max CSV Characters setting prevents excessively large files from consuming too many credits in a single request.
Best Practices
Set Appropriate Size Limits — The default 5 MB limit works well for most documents. Increase it only if users regularly need to upload larger files.
Restrict Extensions for External Agents — For External Widget agents, consider limiting the allowed file types to only what’s needed (e.g. just csv and txt).
Use Auto-Execute Carefully — Auto Execute File Actions skips confirmation for file-based actions like CSV imports. Only enable this for trusted internal agents where users understand the consequences.
Assign link_file_to_record Tool — If you want the agent to attach uploaded files to records, ensure the link_file_to_record tool is assigned to the agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — users can attach up to 5 files per message in both the in-Salesforce assistant and the community portal widget. Each shows as its own chip and can be removed individually before sending; the agent receives and processes all of them together. For more than 5, send additional files in a follow-up message within the same conversation.
Yes. When the agent has Allow File Upload enabled, a paperclip button appears in the community portal widget. Files a customer uploads there are automatically linked to their Contact record. The assistant can also attach an uploaded file to a related record (such as a Case it creates) when asked.
Yes. The REDA AI invocable action accepts multiple files in a single call, so an automated flow can send several documents to the assistant at once.
Files are stored as Salesforce ContentVersion records, following standard Salesforce file storage. They count toward your org’s file storage limits.
Yes. When a user uploads a CSV and asks the agent to import it, the agent reads the data, maps columns to Salesforce fields, and creates records. The agent asks for confirmation before creating records (unless Auto Execute File Actions is enabled).
The upload is rejected with an error message telling the user the maximum allowed file size. The file is not processed.
File upload depends on the channel and the agent’s configuration. The Allow File Upload setting on the Agent Definition controls availability per agent.
The allowed extensions are configurable in Platform Settings. However, the agent can only process the file types it supports natively (PDF, CSV, PNG, JPG, TXT, JSON). Adding unsupported extensions to the allowlist will allow uploads but the agent may not be able to read the content.
Next Steps
Learn about Configuring Tools to manage which tools and capabilities are assigned to your agents, or review How Credits Work to understand the credit impact of file processing.