Find any clause across 500 documents in seconds
Peony's AI reads, classifies, and indexes every document the moment it's uploaded. Full-text search across PDFs, Word, Excel, and scanned files — no manual tagging, no waiting for batch processing. The search engine behind every AI feature in your data room.
How Auto-Indexing works
Full-text search on upload
Every word in every document is indexed the moment it arrives. Search across your entire data room by keyword, clause, entity name, or date — no waiting, no batch processing.
AI classification
Peony reads and categorizes every file automatically — financials, legal agreements, IP filings, corporate records. Each document is classified by what it contains, not just its filename.
Smart tagging by content
Documents are tagged by type, topic, entity, and date. AI extracts key terms, counterparty names, effective dates, and jurisdictions — making every file findable by what matters.
Cross-format search with OCR
Search across PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint decks, and scanned files. Built-in OCR means even image-based documents are fully searchable.
Search everything. Find anything.
Due diligence review
Search across an entire data room. Find every reference to 'change of control' across 500 documents in seconds — not the 2-3 hours of manual searching through folders that legacy VDRs require.
Compliance audits
Auditors can search for specific clauses, dates, or entities across thousands of pages without opening a single file. Every certification, policy, and regulatory filing is instantly findable.
Large data rooms
Deals with 1,000+ files are instantly navigable. Every document is classified and searchable from the moment it's uploaded — no weeks of manual tagging before the room is usable.
Skip the manual tagging
Legacy VDRs like Ideals, Firmex, and Digify have no AI-powered search. Teams spend days manually tagging files and searching folder by folder — hoping they labeled everything correctly.
Peony indexes every document on upload. Classification, entity extraction, and full-text search are automatic — AI-powered and available on the Business plan, ready in under 5 minutes.
The engine behind every AI answer
Auto-Indexing is the foundation that powers every AI feature in Peony. Better indexing means better search, better Q&A, and faster document discovery.
"Every now and then, you come across a product that has a massive positive impact on your business. Peony is one such product."
Panos Moutafis
Founder & CEO, Zenus
Frequently asked questions
I'm a junior analyst organizing 540 documents for a $90M sell-side data room — how does auto-indexing save me from misfiling everything?
On Peony Business ($40/admin/month), Auto-Indexing reads the content of every document on upload and classifies it by what it actually contains — not the filename. For your $90M sell-side, a file labeled 'Q3 update v2 FINAL.xlsx' gets tagged as a financial statement, while a poorly named supply agreement gets classified as 'Material Contract.' Your bidder counsel can then search across all 540 files for a specific clause like 'change of control' and get results in seconds. Ideals, Firmex, and Digify require you to manually tag and organize each file before it becomes searchable — adding days to your data room setup.
Our paralegal team manages 8 concurrent M&A matters averaging $75M each — can we search across scanned contracts and closing binders?
Yes. On Business ($40/admin/month), Auto-Indexing includes built-in OCR that converts every scanned contract, image-based PDF, and photographed closing binder page to searchable text on upload. For your 8 concurrent $75M matters, your paralegals can search across an entire binder set for a specific indemnity clause, escrow provision, or representations section — finding results in seconds rather than manually flipping through hundreds of pages. Before sharing indexed binders with counterparties, your team can apply controlled redaction to permanently black out privileged information. Ideals and Firmex either lack OCR entirely or charge extra for it.
Our PE fund is preparing 6 portfolio companies for a $180M exit — can auto-indexing handle documents from multiple systems with inconsistent naming?
Yes. For your $180M exit, your portfolio companies' documents come from different CFOs, counsel, and operating partners — all with different naming conventions. Auto-Indexing on Business ($40/admin/month) reads the content of every uploaded file and categorizes it by type (financials, legal agreements, corporate records, HR documents) regardless of filename. It also extracts key entities like counterparty names, effective dates, and jurisdictions. Your team can go from a raw file dump across 6 companies to a fully searchable exit room in under an hour — versus the days of manual sorting that legacy VDRs require.
We're running a $250M carve-out — what is the difference between Auto-Indexing and AI Rooms?
For your $250M carve-out, you want both — and they are included on Business ($40/admin/month). Auto-Indexing is the search and retrieval engine: it indexes every word in every document for full-text search, runs OCR on scanned files, and applies smart tags. AI Rooms handles data room setup: it builds folder structures, sorts documents into folders, detects missing files, and scores completeness. Auto-Indexing makes your files findable; AI Rooms makes your room organized. Together, your bidders can find any clause in seconds and your team knows the room is complete before you launch the process.
I'm a PE associate tracing change-of-control clauses across 500 contracts on a $135M add-on acquisition — how fast can auto-indexing find them all?
Peony indexes documents the moment they are uploaded — no batch processing or overnight queue. For your $135M add-on with 500 contracts, search for 'change of control' and get results across every agreement in seconds. Auto-Indexing on Business ($40/admin/month) returns results from PDFs, Word redlines, Excel models, and scanned files in the same query. Your buy-side counsel can trace a single defined term across the entire document set under your exclusivity window — compared to 2-3 hours of manual folder-by-folder searching on Ideals or Firmex.
I'm a banker on a $200M sell-side — does auto-indexing feed into AI Extraction and Smart Q&A, or are they separate?
Auto-Indexing is the foundation that powers every AI feature in your $200M data room. On Business ($40/admin/month), AI Extraction uses the index to deliver cited answers when your team asks questions across documents. Smart Q&A uses it to draft responses when your bidders submit diligence questions. AI Rooms uses it to classify files during setup. Better indexing means better search, better Q&A, and faster document discovery — all from the same indexed document set. No other mid-market VDR offers this integrated AI stack.
Our boutique advisory runs 10 deals per year in the $50M-$150M range — how much does auto-indexing cost versus manual tagging on Datasite or Firmex?
Peony Business is $40/admin/month with Auto-Indexing, full-text search, AI classification, OCR, and smart tagging included — no per-document fees. For a 4-person team running 10 deals/year, that is $1,920/year total. Datasite charges $25,000+ per deal with no AI indexing. Firmex charges $5,000-$20,000 per project and requires manual tagging. For your $50M-$150M pipeline, Peony delivers AI-powered document intelligence at less than 1% of what Datasite charges — and eliminates the days of manual organization your analysts currently spend per deal.
Our paralegals work with PDFs, Word docs, Excel models, and scanned signature pages on a $65M acquisition — can auto-indexing search across all of those formats at once?
Yes. On Business ($40/admin/month), Auto-Indexing supports every format your paralegals encounter: PDF contracts, Word redlines and engagement letters, Excel cap tables and financial models, PowerPoint management presentations, and scanned image files via OCR. For your $65M acquisition, a single search for 'Material Adverse Change' returns results from contracts, spreadsheets, and slide decks in the same query. This cross-format search eliminates opening files individually — still required on Ideals and Firmex, which have no AI-powered indexing at any tier.
Related features
Smart Q&A
Let counterparties submit questions and get AI-drafted answers your team reviews before sending.
AI Rooms
Set up data rooms faster with AI-powered folder templates, missing document detection, and completeness scoring.
Page Analytics
Track exactly who viewed your documents, which pages they read, and how long they spent.