amberSearch alternative for engineering.
If it is not only engineering that searches but sales, service and HR as well, amberSearch is the better choice: over seventy connectors, published prices, with search from 17.99 euros per user in the Business plan, and a thirty-day trial without a credit card. KoAssist, the AI platform for engineering departments by Soneo AI from Vienna, pays off when the bottleneck sits in engineering and Autodesk Vault, SOLIDWORKS PDM and the drawing check against your own design guidelines are part of it. On hosting, the two are close, so it rarely decides the choice.
How do KoAssist and amberSearch differ?
| Criterion | KoAssist | amberSearch |
|---|---|---|
| CAD and PDM connectors | Autodesk Vault and SOLIDWORKS PDM as dedicated connectors | No CAD, PDM or PLM system is named on the integrations page |
| Number of connectors | Seven sources, cut for engineering | More than seventy connectors |
| Scope | Engineering and technical documentation only | The whole company: sales, service, HR, engineering |
| Checking drawings against your own guidelines | Dedicated module in beta with customers, every finding with rule and location on the sheet | Not in the advertised feature set |
| Search on the entry plan | Included | From the Business plan upwards, minimum fifty users |
| Published pricing | No, a quote follows a conversation | Yes, from 12.99 euros per user per month in the Starter plan without search, with search from 17.99 euros in the Business plan, billed annually; thirty-day trial without a credit card |
| Smallest sensible unit | A single engineering team | From one user on Starter, Business from fifty, Enterprise from two hundred |
| Evidence on file | ISO 27001 certified data centres, DPA under Article 28, technical and organisational measures attached | ISO 27001 certified, SOC 2 compliant development practices, hosting in Germany and the EU |
As of September 2026
Sources
- amber: pricing, retrieved September 2026
- amber: integrations, retrieved September 2026
- amber: product, retrieved September 2026
- amber: security, retrieved September 2026
Breadth against depth.
amberSearch, which now trades as amber, is built as an enterprise search. Its guiding question is: where in the company does the information sit, and how do I get it in one sentence? Everything else follows from that, above all the number of connectors. Anyone who wants to bring together Confluence, Salesforce, the DMS and their accounting system needs exactly that breadth, and more than seventy sources is a different ambition from seven.
KoAssist is not built as a search but as a specialist tool for one department. Its guiding question is: which rule applies here, and where does it say so? The difference shows wherever a document is more than text. A drawing has dimensions, tolerances and a title block; a standard has a section numbering that an assessor cites. A system that has to fit sixty applications at once cannot interpret those structures for each of them.
That is why the difference does not lie in data protection, even though in this market the subject usually comes up first. Both host in Germany and the EU. amber itself is ISO 27001 certified; with us, it is the data centres. Anyone comparing at that level will find little difference and should instead ask who in the company is actually searching.
When is amberSearch the better choice?
When it is not only engineering that searches. A tool that serves sales, service and HR as well is the more sensible purchase than two systems for two departments. KoAssist deliberately covers only one and will not change that.
When the price has to be known before the conversation. amberSearch publishes its plans and offers a thirty-day trial without a credit card. With us it starts with a conversation, because every document base looks different. For procurement that needs three comparable prices upfront, a published price list is more convenient.
When the knowledge sits in applications we do not connect to. Confluence, Salesforce, accounting, the DMS: more than seventy connectors against our seven. In a company whose knowledge is spread across such systems, breadth decides.
When is KoAssist the better choice?
When the bottleneck sits in engineering. For standards, drawings and design guidelines we have dedicated modules rather than a search that does a little of everything. If you work with section numbers and dimensions every day, this focus is built for you.
When CAD and PDM are part of it. Autodesk Vault and SOLIDWORKS PDM are dedicated connectors here; no CAD, PDM or PLM system is named on amber's integrations page. If a relevant share of the documents sits there, this point decides on its own.
When the team stays below fifty people. With amber, search is only included from the Business plan upwards, which requires fifty users. KoAssist can be introduced for a single engineering team, because it is cut for one department anyway.
Forty employees, twelve of them in engineering
A special machinery builder with forty employees wants to stop the searching. Twelve people sit in engineering, the rest spread across sales, purchasing, service and administration. The knowledge sits in SharePoint, on two network drives, in Outlook, in the Vault and in the finance department's DMS.
The obvious calculation points to amberSearch: one system for everyone, a known price, a trial without a contract. On closer inspection it tips at one point. Search is only included from the Business plan upwards, and that requires fifty users. With forty people the company lands on the Starter plan, that is chat and agents without the search that prompted the whole exercise.
For the twelve in engineering the question looks different. Their bottleneck is standards, drawings and whether a drawing complies with their own design guidelines. The Vault is part of that, and no connector for it is named on amber's integrations page.
An honest outcome for this company is therefore often: KoAssist for engineering, because that is where the measurable time loss sits, and postpone the company-wide search until headcount passes fifty. A company already above fifty whose engineering works without a PDM should decide the other way round.
Common questions
What is the difference between amberSearch and KoAssist?
amberSearch is an enterprise search for the whole company with more than seventy connectors. KoAssist is a specialist tool for engineering and technical documentation, connects to Autodesk Vault and SOLIDWORKS PDM and checks drawings against your own design guidelines. On hosting the two barely differ.
Is there an amberSearch alternative for mechanical engineering?
KoAssist is cut for engineering and technical documentation: answers from standards, specifications and project files with file and page, connectors for Autodesk Vault and SOLIDWORKS PDM, plus a dedicated module for checking drawings. In exchange it does not cover other departments.
Can amberSearch search CAD drawings and PDM data?
No CAD, PDM or PLM system is named on amber's integrations page; what is listed includes SharePoint, network drives, Confluence, Salesforce and accounting systems. Whether a connector is possible on request is best answered by the vendor.
What does amberSearch cost compared with KoAssist?
amberSearch publishes its prices: the Starter plan begins at 12.99 euros per user per month billed annually, the Business plan with search at 17.99 euros with a minimum of fifty users. KoAssist publishes no price list, because the effort depends on the document base; the quote follows a conversation.
Which AI search suits an engineering team under fifty people?
With amberSearch, search is only included from the Business plan upwards, which requires fifty users. Below that the Starter plan remains, with chat and agents. KoAssist can be introduced for a single engineering team, because it is cut for one department anyway.
Do both host in Germany?
Yes. amber names hosting in Germany and the EU and is itself ISO 27001 certified. KoAssist is hosted in Germany in ISO 27001 certified data centres, with language processing in European data centres. On hosting, the two are close.
See it on your own documents.
In the demo we load a handful of your standards, guidelines and drawings and ask the questions that actually come up in your work. After that you will know whether the difference is one in your company.
Book a demo with your own documents