Nobi For Search

Nobi For Search

While Nobi can handle any type of conversational interaction, search is at the heart of what makes Nobi powerful. Most of our customers start by replacing their existing search bar with Nobi after having run an A/B test with us and see how Nobi’s conversion rates outperform those of their existing search engine.

Why Search Matters

Search is often the highest-intent action on an ecommerce site. Customers who use search know what they want and are ready to buy. But traditional keyword search has limitations:
  • Customers must use exact terminology that matches your product data
  • Typos and synonyms return poor or zero results
  • Long-tail queries like "waterproof hiking boots for wide feet" often fail
  • Customers can't refine results conversationally
Poor search experiences lead to frustrated customers and lost sales. Nobi solves this.

How Nobi's Search Mode Works

Nobi’s search mode in action - results are shown with no speedup in real time
Nobi’s search mode in action - results are shown with no speedup in real time

Search mode: faster results

When a customer sends a short, search-like message from Nobi’s search bar launch component, Nobi automatically activates Search Mode. This specialized mode:
  • Sends the query directly to our search server
  • Uses RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) to find the most relevant products
  • Returns results in sub-second response times
  • Delivers accuracy that typically outperforms traditional search by significant margins
Search Mode is optimized for speed and precision. Because it bypasses the conversational AI layer for initial queries, customers get immediate, relevant results without waiting for an LLM response.
When using our Search Bar, customers will also get typeahead products and queries, which usually result in the highest conversion rates of any engagement type.

When it activates

Nobi’s search mode activates in the following cases:
  • A site visitor types in a query into Nobi’s search bar launch component
  • The search bar is has the use-search-mode-at-launch attribute either not set or set to true
  • The query has fewer than 5 words and no punctuation marks

What you can search by

  • Standard searches: the same keyword-based searches that your visitors use today, but with smarter and more relevant search results from semantic search
  • SKUs: your team and your visitors can search for full or partial SKUs and Nobi will return the matching item. If no results are found, Nobi will expand its search to find the closest matching items in your whole catalog.
ℹ️ Product availability in Nobi
Nobi can only search products that are available in your public catalog. If you’re on Shopify and you have unpublished products, or products that are not published to your online sales channel, they won’t show up in Nobi’s results.

Natural language follow-ups and filtering

Search Mode only activates for the first message. After customers see their initial results, they can follow up conversationally and Nobi seamlessly transitions to AI mode:
Customer: "running shoes"
[Search Mode returns running shoe results]
Customer: "do you have any in wide sizes?"
[AI Mode takes over and filters results conversationally]
Customer: "what's the difference between these two?"
[AI Mode provides detailed comparison]
This hybrid approach gives customers the best of both worlds: fast search results upfront, with conversational refinement available when needed.

Semantic understanding

Nobi doesn't just match keywords. It understands meaning and context, which means customers can search the way they naturally think:
Traditional search fails:
  • "Shoes for my wedding" → no results (products aren't tagged "wedding")
  • "Comfy office chair" → no results (products say "ergonomic," not "comfy")
  • "Gift for coffee lover" → no results (returns coffee, not coffee-related gifts)
Nobi understands:
  • "Shoes for my wedding" → returns dress shoes, heels, formal footwear
  • "Comfy office chair" → returns ergonomic chairs with comfort features
  • "Gift for coffee lover" → returns mugs, grinders, brewing accessories
This semantic understanding dramatically improves the customer experience and reduces zero-result searches.

Merchandising Control

Even with AI-powered search, you maintain complete control over what customers see. Use merchandising tools to:
  • Boost seasonal or promotional products in search results
  • Bury products you want to de-emphasize without hiding them completely
  • Pin specific products to top positions for certain queries
  • Hide products from search entirely (out of season, discontinued, etc.)
These controls work seamlessly with Search Mode, so your business priorities always take precedence over algorithmic ranking. Learn more in Merchandising Overview.

Next Steps

Learn more on our Search Bar Launch Component