> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-ai-docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Indexing Overview

> Learn about data import methods for populating Azure AI Search indexes.

# Data Import and Indexing

Populate your search index using push or pull methods to make content searchable.

## Indexing Methods

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Push API">
    **Push Method**

    Programmatically upload JSON documents:

    * No restrictions on data source type
    * Real-time updates
    * Full control over connectivity
    * Batch up to 1000 documents or 16 MB

    ```json theme={null}
    POST /indexes/my-index/docs/index
    {
      "value": [
        {
          "@search.action": "upload",
          "id": "1",
          "title": "Azure Search",
          "content": "..."
        }
      ]
    }
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Pull Method (Indexers)">
    **Pull Method (Indexers)**

    Automatically crawl and index data:

    * Supported data sources only
    * Scheduled refresh
    * Change detection
    * AI enrichment support

    **Supported sources**:

    * Azure Blob Storage
    * Azure Cosmos DB
    * Azure SQL Database
    * SharePoint Online
    * OneLake
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Document Actions

* **upload**: Insert new or replace existing documents
* **merge**: Update existing document fields
* **mergeOrUpload**: Merge if exists, otherwise upload
* **delete**: Remove document from index

## Indexing Workflow

```mermaid theme={null}
graph LR
    A[Data Source] -->|Extract| B[Documents]
    B -->|Transform| C[JSON Format]
    C -->|Load| D[Search Index]
    D -->|Query| E[Search Results]
```

## AI Enrichment

Add AI-powered transformations during indexing:

* **Data chunking**: Split large documents
* **Vectorization**: Generate embeddings
* **OCR**: Extract text from images
* **Entity recognition**: Identify people, places, organizations
* **Key phrase extraction**: Extract important terms
* **Language detection**: Identify document language

## Best Practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Batch Documents" icon="layer-group">
    Upload multiple documents per request for efficiency
  </Card>

  <Card title="Handle Errors" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    Implement retry logic for failed documents
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use Indexers" icon="gears">
    Automate ingestion from supported sources
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor Progress" icon="chart-line">
    Track indexer status and document counts
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Indexers" icon="robot" href="/search/indexing/indexers">
    Learn about automated indexing
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create Index" icon="plus" href="https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/search/search-how-to-create-search-index">
    Build your index schema
  </Card>
</CardGroup>