Semantic search: when your shop understands what customers mean

With AI Vector Search, the OnFinds search understands the meaning behind a query – not just the letters. Your customers find the right product even when they describe it instead of typing its exact name.

Where classic search hits its limits

A conventional shop search compares words: if the search term isn’t in the product title or description, there is no match. But customers rarely search with the exact product name. They type “warm top for winter” – meaning the fleece jacket that has been in your range all along. The result: an empty results page even though the product exists. And an empty results page is one of the most common reasons visitors leave a shop.

Explained simply: a map of meanings

Semantic search places products and queries on a kind of meaning map. Products with similar meaning sit close together – “fleece jacket”, “jumper” and “warm top” are neighbours even though they share no words. When a customer types a query, OnFinds looks for the products closest to it on this map. What counts is what is meant – not which letters happen to match.

Examples: how search results improve

• “device to type on” – finds keyboards even though the word “keyboard” was never entered.
• “gift for a 5-year-old” – leads to age-appropriate toys instead of an empty page.
• “something against draughts” – shows door seals and draught stoppers because the search understands the purpose.
• “shoes for hiking in the rain” – prioritises waterproof hiking boots, not just any shoe with “rain” in the text.

Importantly, exact search stays in charge where it is strong. Anyone typing a part number or model name still gets the exact hit – semantic search steps in precisely where customers describe things in their own words. Both approaches run combined, and the best result wins.

What this means for your shop

Fewer dead ends, more product pages: queries that used to go nowhere now land on matching products. Together with AI Visual Tagging and AI Synonym Boosting, semantic search plugs into the full OnFinds AI: one understands your products, the other every choice of words – together more than the sum.

You’ll find all the details on the AI Vector Search page. You can try OnFinds free for 30 days – no payment details, the trial ends automatically.