Configure Search Types on SharePoint Content Sources

There are two Search Type options available: Keyword Search and Smart Search.

• Keyword Search is a full-text search capability that finds exact keyword matches within the content of your connected sources. It is ideal when you know the specific terms or phrases you are looking for, as it relies strictly on matching the exact words or phrases entered in the search box, and is faster than AI-powered Smart Search. The drawback is that it may overlook relevant content that uses different terminology or synonyms.
• Smart Search, is designed to enable natural-language questions and inquiries within Hub content. This extends Keyword Search capabilities beyond traditional keyword matches to deliver contextual and intuitive content discovery. Smart Search leverages AI to understand the context and intent behind the query, enabling it to surface results that are semantically related, even if the exact keywords are not present. However, Smart Search is a longer running search type.

You can learn more about the different types of Searches users can perform in QorusDocs here.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Where to find the Search Type options
• How to switch between Keyword and Smart Search Type options
• Here’s what you should know

Where to find the Search Type options

Assuming you wish to edit the Search Type option for an existing SharePoint Content Source, locate the one you want to edit, click on the Gear icon and then on “Edit”:

Then click on “Edit” again at the top right of your screen:

Click on “Show advanced options”:

Click to set the "Search Type" to 'Keyword Search' or 'Smart Search':

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How to switch between Keyword and Smart Search

When you create a new SharePoint Online Content Source, Smart Search is the default Search Type. You can switch between Keyword and Smart Search at any time as indicated in the screenshots above.

Here’s what you should know

The sparkle icon indicates whether a Content Source is Smart Search or Keyword Search enabled

Smart Search enabled Content Sources have a sparkle icon on top of the usual Content Source icon in the Search UI, however Keyword Search enabled Content Sources do not. This is how users can easily tell which type of search is enabled.

Warning on Search Type Change

If you have a Campaign or favorite search created using a Content Source, you will receive this warning message upon changing the Search Type of that particular Content Source:

This is because the QorusDocs search behaves differently and may yield different results based on whether it is optimized for AI-powered Smart Search or for traditional Keyword Search. 

• If there are existing Favorite Searches, it would be a good idea to notify users who may be impacted. Your odata feed can help you identify who these users are.
• If there are existing Campaigns, then you can check that the Campaign is returning the results that were originally intended and/or edit the Campaign as necessary. 

Newly added content must be indexed before it is searchable for Smart Search enabled Content Sources

QorusDocs indexes content automatically twice per day to ensure all search results are up to date. If you don’t want to wait and wish to make new content searchable immediately, you can index new content manually. You can learn how to do that here.

Availability of QPilot in Smart Search

For users with a QPilot license, at the top of the Smart Search, QPilot will consolidate the top five search results and generate a tailored response to the user’s question. For those who do not have a QPilot license, an AI-generated response will not be available. Instead, they will be able to view their search results only.

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