What is AI search?

The days of scrolling through endless pages of search results are over. Generative AI has ushered in a new era of efficiency, accuracy, and personalized search experiences.

So, what is AI-powered search? It is a smarter way to connect people with what they need, using artificial intelligence to deliver highly relevant results faster and with greater precision.

Consider Google search, which processes about 8.5 billion searches every day. With the rise of AI tools like large language models (LLMs) and conversational chatbots, they have introduced Gemini, an AI-driven upgrade to their classic search experience, moving beyond a simple search engine to something far more intelligent.

Now, let’s explore what AI-powered search can unlock for brands—and why it is a game changer for customer engagement to deliver highly relevant results with advanced search capabilities. 

The easiest way to understand AI-powered search is to compare it to basic search.

Basic search matches a keyword to text in a website’s database. Traditional search engines depend on algorithms that often fall short in accuracy and efficiency, making it harder to deliver truly relevant results.

AI-powered search changes that. It delivers highly relevant answers to complex, unstructured queries that basic search tools cannot handle. This shift is transforming how people find information.

AI-driven search uses machine learning, natural language processing, and other advanced techniques to analyze large datasets and improve results over time. By combining these technologies, AI-powered search engines not only return more accurate results, they also offer features like automated query suggestions, personalized recommendations, and even visual search options.

This is made possible through a suite of integrated tools and optimization technologies, including:

• Natural language processing (NLP): Grasps query content from multiple data sources, and burrows deep within complex sources to learn about it. It also helps identify linguistic elements such as synonyms, nuances, and relations between words and phrases, enabling more effective voice search functionalities and conversational searches.
• Machine learning (ML) algorithms: AI algorithms play a crucial role in AI-powered search by learning from user interactions. They can adapt to changing user preferences and trends, ensuring the search results are always up-to-date and accurate.
• Faceting and filtering tools: Designed to find precise information in vast data collections.
• Entity extraction tools: Find and classify text data elements into pre-set categories (for example - object type, names, products, etc.).
• Semantic search: Understands the context and meaning of words and phrases used in search queries by using natural language processing and machine learning. This provides more relevant search results.

AI-powered search engines use rich APIs and tools like AI overviews to embed content search, guided navigation, and promotions seamlessly into any website. These capabilities are driven by context-aware rules that apply predictive, type-ahead functionality in milliseconds, delivering relevant content suggestions in real time.

Smart search—another term for AI-powered search—offers clear advantages over traditional methods including: Smart search, another term for AI-powered search, offers several benefits over traditional search methods. Here are a few:

• Improved accuracy: AI-powered search engines deliver more accurate search results by understanding the context and intent behind a search query.
• Personalized results: AI-powered search engines can provide personalized search results based on a user's real-time search preferences.
• Efficient information retrieval: AI-powered search engines can quickly sift through vast amounts of data to find the most relevant information, making the search process more efficient and user-friendly.
• Better user experience: By delivering more accurate and personalized search results, AI technology helps provide a better user experience.

AI search is already changing the approach to SEO rankings and search use cases. The Pew Research Center found that people who encounter Google’s AI summaries are less likely to click on a link to another website, and more likely to end their browsing session entirely after seeing one. 

SitecoreAI™ empowers brands to connect individual users with highly relevant content by: 

Recognize intent in real time
SitecoreAI™ uses live behavioral signals, context, and audience insights to understand what each person needs in the moment. AI agents act on that intent to surface the most relevant content, so every interaction feels timely, personal, and useful.

Activate content that works harder
SitecoreAI structures content for people and machines, making every asset easier to find, reuse, and adapt. AI connects the right message to the right person across channels, helping you deliver relevance at scale without creating more content.

Guide journeys with AI and human control
SitecoreAI orchestrates personalized journeys from start to finish, using agentic AI to adapt experiences as behavior changes. You stay in control with built-in governance, brand guardrails, and human review, so personalization remains trusted and on brand.