Search Experience
Deploy Resly’s AI-powered search to give customers instant answers from your knowledge base. Perfect for documentation sites, help centers, and customers who prefer quick lookups over conversations.
Why Use Search?
Search is ideal when customers:
- Know what they’re looking for - Specific questions or topics
- Want speed - Instant results without conversation
- Prefer self-service - Browse answers independently
- Need documentation - API refs, guides, technical docs
Search provides sub-second response times for knowledge base lookups with full AI semantic understanding.
Key Features
Semantic Understanding
Unlike traditional search that only matches keywords, Resly’s search understands meaning:
- Finds answers even when different words are used
- Understands synonyms and related concepts
- Ranks results by relevance, not just keyword matches
- Handles natural language questions
Source Citations
Every answer includes links back to original documentation:
- Build trust through transparency
- Enable deeper exploration with source links
- Verify information easily
- Track content usage
Instant Results
- Fast responses thanks to hybrid search + reranking
- No page refresh needed
- Smooth modal experience
Configuration Options
Configure search in the DEPLOY tab of your admin dashboard:
Accent Color
Brand color for buttons, highlights, and focus states:
- Format: Hex code (e.g.,
#10B981) - Where it appears: Launcher button, search button, links, highlights
Launcher Label
Customize the button text:
- Default: “Search Docs”
- Examples:
- “Search Help Center”
- “Find Answers”
- “Ask AI”
- “Search Knowledge Base”
Position
Choose launcher placement:
- bottom-left (recommended if using both chat and search)
- bottom-right
If deploying both chat and search, use chat in bottom-right and search in bottom-left for clear differentiation.
Hero Title
Main heading in the search modal:
- Default: “Search our knowledge base”
- Keep it clear and concise
- Examples: “How can we help?”, “Find answers fast”
Hero Subtitle
Supporting text below the title:
- Default: “Get instant answers from our documentation”
- Explain what customers can search for
- Set expectations for what’s available
Suggestions
Pre-populated common questions users can click:
- Format: Pipe-separated list
Question 1|Question 2|Question 3 - Example:
Getting started|Pricing|API docs - Shows 3-5 suggestions that guide users
- Clickable for instant search
Search Mode
Choose between two search modes:
Instant Mode
- Fastest - Optimized for speed
- Brief answers with source links
- Multiple results shown simultaneously
- Best for quick lookups
Detailed Mode
- Comprehensive - More thorough responses
- Detailed explanations with context
- Single focused answer per query
- Best for complex questions
Instant mode is recommended for documentation sites. Detailed mode works better for help centers with complex questions.
Background Style
Customize the search modal appearance:
- Glass - Frosted glass effect (modern, elegant)
- Gradient - Subtle gradient background
- Solid - Clean solid color background
Embed Code
Standard Installation
<script src="https://yoursite.com/search-embed.js"></script>
<script>
window.rs('init', {
accentColor: '#10B981',
launcherLabel: 'Search Docs',
position: 'bottom-left',
heroTitle: 'Search our knowledge base',
heroSubtitle: 'Get instant answers from our documentation',
suggestions: 'Getting started|Pricing|API docs',
mode: 'instant',
backgroundStyle: 'glass',
apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
enabled: true
});
</script>Add before the closing </body> tag on your website.
Use Cases
Documentation Sites
Perfect for developer docs and technical documentation:
window.rs('init', {
accentColor: '#6366F1',
launcherLabel: 'Search Docs',
heroTitle: 'Search Documentation',
heroSubtitle: 'Find guides, API references, and examples',
suggestions: 'Installation|API Reference|Examples|Troubleshooting',
mode: 'instant',
backgroundStyle: 'dark'
});Help Centers
Ideal for customer support help articles:
window.rs('init', {
accentColor: '#10B981',
launcherLabel: 'Search Help',
heroTitle: 'How can we help?',
heroSubtitle: 'Search our help center for answers',
suggestions: 'Account setup|Billing|Troubleshooting',
mode: 'detailed',
backgroundStyle: 'glass'
});Product Pages
Great for product FAQs and specifications:
window.rs('init', {
accentColor: '#FF6B35',
launcherLabel: 'Product FAQ',
heroTitle: 'Product Questions?',
heroSubtitle: 'Find answers about features and specs',
suggestions: 'Features|Pricing|Compatibility|Warranty',
mode: 'instant',
backgroundStyle: 'gradient'
});Combined Deployment (Chat + Search)
Deploy both chat and search on the same page:
<!-- Chat Widget -->
<script src="https://yoursite.com/embed.js"></script>
<script>
window.fw('init', {
primaryColor: '#10B981',
position: 'bottom-right',
welcomeMessage: 'Hi! How can I help?',
apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY'
});
</script>
<!-- Search Experience -->
<script src="https://yoursite.com/search-embed.js"></script>
<script>
window.rs('init', {
accentColor: '#10B981',
position: 'bottom-left',
heroTitle: 'Search Documentation',
suggestions: 'Getting started|API|Pricing',
mode: 'instant',
apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY'
});
</script>Both share the same knowledge base - upload content once, deploy everywhere.
Benefits of Using Both
- Customer choice - Conversation or quick search
- Different use cases - Chat for actions, search for lookups
- Broader coverage - Capture all interaction preferences
- More insights - See what customers search vs. ask
Advanced Configuration
Programmatic hooks such as window.rs('open') or custom event listeners are not exposed yet. The current embed supports only window.rs('init', {...}) configuration with the built-in launcher.
Analytics Benefits
Search provides unique insights:
- What customers search for - Identify popular topics
- Unanswered queries - Find knowledge base gaps
- Search patterns - Understand customer needs
- Content performance - Which articles get clicked
Use these insights to improve your knowledge base and documentation.
Best Practices
Suggestion Prompts
- Choose 3-5 common questions
- Cover different topic areas
- Use customer language, not internal jargon
- Keep them concise and clear
Hero Text
- Make the title inviting and clear
- Use the subtitle to set expectations
- Match your brand voice
- Keep it brief - users want to search, not read
Mode Selection
- Instant mode for most use cases
- Detailed mode when questions need thorough explanations
- Test both to see which fits your content better
Monitor analytics to see which mode customers prefer and adjust based on usage patterns.
Troubleshooting
Search Not Appearing
Check:
- Embed code is before
</body>tag - API key is correct
enabled: trueis set- No JavaScript errors in console
Poor Search Results
Improve:
- Add more content to knowledge base
- Use clear headings in documentation
- Include common phrasings customers use
- Break large articles into focused topics
Slow Performance
Optimize:
- Ensure knowledge base is properly indexed
- Check network latency
- Verify mode is set to “instant”
- Contact support for performance tuning
Next Steps
- Deploy chat widget for conversational support
- Configure API access for custom integrations
- Monitor analytics to improve search results
- Review best practices for search optimization