The search bar is small in size but big in impact. With 43% of customers going straight to it, its business-critical role is obvious. In seconds, search decides whether customers feel understood or leave the store. And those who use it often generate a large share of revenue. That makes search not only a UX challenge, but a bottom-line driver. With semantic search and AI, the field transforms from a rigid machine into a digital shop assistant -listening, guiding, and building loyalty.
Picture this: you walk into a store on a dull Tuesday and ask the clerk, “Do you have a jacket that will keep me warm and dry in the rain?” He looks at you, blank-eyed: “Sorry, we don’t carry anything called ‘dry’ or ‘rain.’” By that point, you’re already out the door.
That’s exactly what happens online when search doesn’t understand us. We search like people, but too often we’re met with machines that only match letters.
And it’s expensive. 43% of customers begin with search, but if results are empty or irrelevant, the journey ends instantly. What’s worse, those searchers are the most valuable - they convert up to 50% better than average and drive a disproportionate share of revenue.
Search, in other words, is a star player in your e-commerce experience. And the potential for improvement is enormous. With AI, we now have the tools to go beyond keywords and tap into intent and context. That’s where semantic search changes everything. That’s when your webshop starts to listen.
From Keywords to Conversations
Classic search is built on keywords: Type the right one, and you get results. But users rarely think in keywords, we think in needs. “Shoes for winter.” “An outfit for a summer wedding.” “A chair that fits a small kitchen table.” If a webshop only matches exact product text, too many customers end up empty-handed.
Some platforms have tried to bridge the gap with synonym lists. That helps to an extent - “sneakers” may match “trainers” or “casual shoes.” But language is fluid. Trends change, slang evolves, and no list can keep up.
Semantic search changes the game. Powered by AI, it understands the relations, contexts, and intentions behind a query. It’s about meaning the meaning behind the words - which is the definition of semantics, in case you were wondering.
Semantic search recognizes that “shoes for rain” means waterproof footwear, and that an “evening gown” fulfills the same need as a “party dress.” It also opens up discovery: Searches driven by mood and style, like “furniture for an old townhouse” or “I love Italian food—what kitchen tools do I need?”
In short, users can search in their own words, and the webshop can still deliver relevant results.
Opening the Door to Completely New Search Experiences
Semantic search goes way beyond the search bar. When tech can grasp intent and context, whole new search modes open up. Chatbots and voice assistants turn the webshop into a conversation partner instead of a word-matching machine: “I need a gift for my mom—she loves baking. Got anything?” No static results page. Instead, the customer gets guided. Just like having a shop assistant online.
This is the essence of Conversational Commerce. The way we interact with ChatGPT and other AI tools is bleeding into how we shop. Search is turning into conversation, and that shift is already happening.
Then there’s visual search. Snap a picture of something you spot on the street or at a friend’s house, and AI finds similar products. That’s been possible for years, but with multimodal models that understand both images and text, it’s on another level. Now you can upload a photo and add: “I want my whole living room in this style, what should I buy?”
Suddenly, it’s not database lookups anymore. It’s discovery. Exploration. Inspiration. The guesswork is gone, and the sense of being understood feels real. Add in AI’s grasp of your personal preferences, and inspiration, consideration, and purchase start to blur together—reshaping the journey entirely.
Amazon recently introduced a new Visual Search feature in its app, Lens Live, which performs impressively. The technology behind these kinds of features is now well-established, and image recognition has advanced considerably with the latest AI models. Going forward, customers are likely to expect leading webshops to provide this functionality - or at the very least integrate with third-party platforms so their products can be discovered through visual search.
Conclusion: Small Box. Big Business.
When search works, it shows. Microsoft reports that companies have seen conversion rates lift by as much as 30% after moving to AI-driven search. It’s proof that semantic search is not just a UX upgrade, but a direct investment in the KPIs that define business success.
It’s also about future-proofing. Semantic search prepares your business for changing consumer behavior, rising expectations, and the growing role of AI agents in the customer journey. This shift makes intent-based content essential - not only describing what a product is, but also what it helps customers achieve.
We’re moving toward a future where AI-driven search is the main way customers discover new products, while AI agents take care of routine tasks.
Yet today still matters. Consumers are used to searching in Google terms with categories, filters, and keywords, so these remain important. The best search experiences will bridge both worlds: keyword-driven and semantic.
That demands solid, structured product data. Without clear descriptions, even advanced AI won’t deliver. It must understand the contexts and semantic links your products relate to.
Catalog complexity also plays a role. For a large, complex assortment, the business value is huge. For a small niche store, ROI may be limited. It’s a question of strategy and scale.
At Vertica, we’re convinced: semantic search is here to stay. It brings you closer to your customers, allowing them to search in their own words, their own style, their own way. It turns the search bar into a digital shop assistant that guides, rather than blocks. And that can be the difference between losing them to a competitor—or winning the sale.