Smart Search from HawkSearch

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a prominent driver in many facets of business. Site search is one facet, and its results show how capable artificial intelligence has become. Now is the perfect time to start utilizing smart search to grow your company’s eCommerce channel. Smart search allows B2B buyers to find what they are looking for in an easy, efficient way which boosts overall sales and conversion rate as a whole.

The Problem with Traditional Search

B2B buyers go to websites to purchase what they need as part of their job. If the buyer is able to find what they are looking for, not only will they buy that product, but they are more likely to purchase other products from the company as well. However, the flaw of traditional B2B search is the overreliance on keyword match, which may lead to relevant search results not being shown. Additionally, context ignorance and poor filtering within traditional B2B search can lead to an all-around negative experience for the buyer.

What is Smart Search AI?

Smart search utilizes algorithms and AI to help provide a better search experience for buyers. There are many unique features that make up the general term Smart Search and they each have the same common goal of making search more efficient for buyers.

Key Features and Benefits

The features that make up HawkSearch’s Smart Search are: concept search, keyword search, visual search, and image search.

• Concept Search - Can show products based on the concept being searched. For example, if a retailer searches “Large screws” on the site of a B2B manufacturer, various types of considerably sized screws would appear in the results. Smart Search can understand what you are looking for even if a specific product sku or size isn’t searched.
• Keyword Search
  • Unit of measure conversion
    • Adapts whatever unit of measurement you search to line up with the unit in the item description (e.g.: 24 inches → 2 feet)
  • SKU support
    • Ensures that as the user is typing, the most popular searches that qualify are being shown

• AI based multipliers
  • Choose which products you want to be seen and hidden with multipliers
• Autocomplete
  • Provides recommendations for finishing the user’s search as they are typing
• Stop words
  • Cuts out unimportant words, and uses words that match up with the embedded NLP (Natural Language Processing)
• Synonyms
  • Customizable lists that allow for certain results to be shown to different words of the same meaning
• Protected words
  • Leverages AI technology to provide the correct results and avoid unintended meaning of a search
• “Did you mean?”
  • When typos occur, Smart Search understands within reason what the user is searching for and asks “Did you mean ______?”
• Visibility rules
  • Hides items that aren’t catered to specific people (e.g.: If a product isn’t available in a certain country or region)
• Visual Search - By uploading a picture into the search, you will be able to find the item you are looking for right away, even without knowing the item’s name.
• Image Search - Smart Search will find the item you are looking for simply by describing the item's image.

As you can see above, the different features that make up HawkSearch’s site search set them apart from the competition. The four main types of search that HawkSearch provides cover every possible aspect of search a buyer can be expecting when looking for a product.

About HawkSearch

HawkSearch powers digital experiences for some of the world’s largest brands. Our innovative site search solution goes above and beyond any other search tool in the market. HawkSearch enables companies to capture greater traffic, increase order value, and drive conversion. Our suite of digital experience solutions provide feature-rich eCommerce and content management capabilities, turn-key site search and merchandising, SEO optimization tools and more - all designed to keep your revenue climbing. For more information, contact Jeremy LaDuque at jladuque@bridgeline.com

About Xngage

Xngage is a Digital Services firm focused on delivering commerce success in B2B for leading manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers. The Xngage team of B2B commerce experts fuses digital strategy with execution to create relevant buyer and seller interactions to maximize business impact.

Xngage and HawkSearch have partnered to create the XConnect connector, developed by Xngage for HawkSearch, which is now available in the Optimizely marketplace.