AI Search that understands any query
and assists shoppers

AI search uses technologies such as vector embeddings and language models to interpret the meaning and intent behind a search. On an online store, shoppers can search the way they talk, by describing a need, a style, or a use case, and still find relevant products.

Nosto AI Search is a Nosto Commerce Search module that works on top of Personalized Search. It adds vector search to keyword matching, so exact searches stay precise and descriptive ones return relevant products, with your personalization and merchandising rules still applied. Soon, it will also help shoppers narrow down their results.

Hybrid Vector Search compares the meaning of a search with the meaning of your product data. Searches like “cosy knit for a cold office” or “running shoes for bad knees” can then return relevant products, even when shoppers don’t use the words in your catalog.

Retailers decide when Hybrid Vector Search steps in, for example on searches that return no results or don’t perform well. They can keep specific queries keyword-only. Nosto Search analytics then show how vector search contributes to their results.

AI assistance helps shoppers narrow down results right on the search results page. It asks a quick follow-up question when a search could go several ways, applies filters for details like price or size mentioned in the search, and briefly states what it understood.

Conversational product discovery lets shoppers describe what they need in a chat and get guided recommendations. Nosto offers this through Discovery Agent, a separate product that shoppers can open from the search bar with AI Mode. The conversation picks up from what they already typed, so they don’t have to start over.

Nosto AI Search is designed to reduce searches with no results and support higher click-through and conversion rates from search. Hybrid Vector Search returns relevant products for queries that don’t match the words in the catalog. AI assistance, coming soon, aims to keep shoppers searching instead of leaving, by helping them narrow down results with less effort.

Effective site search understands both exact and descriptive queries, ranks products for each shopper and the retailer’s priorities, and uses AI to help shoppers find what they want faster. Shoppers are ready for it: in Nosto’s 2026 consumer research, 72% have already used AI search features on a store or are open to trying them.