The evolution of Semantic search — Bernadette Nixon // Algolia

Bernadette Nixon, CEO of Algolia, examines the transformation of semantic search through AI. As technology advances, so too does the way we search for information. Semantic search is the next step in this evolution, utilizing AI to understand the intent behind a user's query and deliver more accurate and relevant results. Today, Bernadette discusses the evolution of semantic search.
About the speaker

Bernadette Nixon

Algolia

- Algolia

Bernadette is CEO of Algolia

Show Notes

  • 01:35
    Overview of Algolia
    Algolia is an API-first company and a search and discovery platform. The company has over 17,000 companies using its platform and handles approximately 1.5 trillion searches per year.
  • 03:22
    Algolias search volume vs public search engines
    Algolia specializes in taking over search functionality on specific websites, brands, and properties, rather than being a public search engine like Google. The company reserves four times the combined volume of the next five largest public search engines.
  • 04:37
    The role of AI in the evolution of semantic search
    The evolution of AI in semantic search has advanced from simply adding AI to keyword search to creating an end-to-end AI search experience. Vector search, though still experimental, will provide better results without the need for rules like a keyword search.
  • 11:10
    Neural search use cases
    In eCommerce, neural searches will allow consumers to search as they think and interact with the search engine as a human. It will also enable eCommerce sites to merchandise for fat head and long tail queries when product catalogs are too large to merchandise manually.
  • 15:49
    The impact of AI in semantic search on privacy and user experience
    AI will play a significant role in unlocking better experiences as youll no longer have to manually define synonyms. And, there will still be a place to deliver personalization at the segment level while respecting people's privacy and being compliant with privacy regulations.
  • 18:39
    Predictions for AI search
    Every company will race to become AI-powered and hybrid search (combining keyword technology with semantic technology) will become the norm. In addition, the link between search and navigation will be recognized as critical to engagement and higher ranking ability.

Quotes

  • "We have over 17,000 users on our platform today. And, we handle about 1.5 trillion searches on the platform a year." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "Over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend that we just had not long ago, we were processing at peak 100,000 searches a second." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "The public search engines are Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, and DuckDuckGo. And we serve four times their combined volume at peak when you look at that across the year." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "We are the only search company that is able to provide end-to-end AI search and, as a consequence, provide better results." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "From a consumer perspective, we want to be able to search as we think. We want something to interact with us as a human, as opposed to having to put these keywords in that are very stilted and staccato." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "Not all AI searches are created equal. Really dig under the covers as you're exploring the different possibilities with the different companies to make sure that you have end-to-end AI search." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "Whether they know it or not, every company is in a race to become an AI-powered company." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

  • "Search and navigation are both critical to SEO. With the climate right now of having to do more with less, I think this is the year that people are going to figure out that there's really a linkage there." -Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

About the speaker

Bernadette Nixon

Algolia

- Algolia

Bernadette is CEO of Algolia

Up Next: