Upgrade Shopify product search to AI semantic search

What is Shopify semantic search?

AI-powered machine learning for Shopify brings better search results. But it wasn't always like this; just 2-3 years ago, on-site search engines in ecommerce behaved completely differently. 
In addition to looking at the context behind a user's query, M:AI makes Shopify semantic search take other factors into account; Search intent and semantics.

Search intent

Users' search results are not always understandable. For example, imagine a user who wants to buy shoes in your Shopify store. Many would have searched for "black tennis shoes". The on-site search engine on ecommerce websites often only checks the product name. This leads to:
● Not searching by color or size● Doesn't always find products that are misspelled, for example "tennis shoes" instead of "tennis shoes"● Not understanding synonyms of words e.g. if the user searches for sneakers but means gym shoes or tennis shoes● Not understanding the plural of words
The end result is a much less relevant search result.
With the help of machine learning, semantic search can understand a user's intent and, in short, make the searcher's life much easier.

Semantics

Semantics is a form of linguistics. It involves looking at words as a collective rather than individually. The built-in legacy search engine's approach is entirely focused on keywords. This meant that it shows the user search results with less reliability. Which leads to fewer purchases on your Shopify store.
The modern AI search engine uses semantics to look for associations between different words. Essentially, this approach tries to mirror human communication. An AI search engine like M:AI can display search results that match the user's query. Even when the user does not always write clearly what they mean.