Advanced Related Posts vs Init Live Search – AI-Powered, Related Posts, Slash Commands

WordPress Related Posts plugin Advanced Related Posts Premium The WordPress Related Posts plugin allows you to show a related posts list on your website after a post or via a widget. The plugin offers a range of features, including custom thumbnails, meta box settings, advanced styles, and more. The plugin is an essential tool to introduce your page visitors to other related content, boost site engagement, and increase pageviews. Furthermore, it allows you to fully customize your contextual related posts list without any need for tech skills. To activate the tool, select the post types after which you would like to display related posts. You can enable it for all post types or exclude some according to categories and IDs. Besides, you can decide the post relation type and the way of ordering the contextual related posts list. It’s possible to show excerpts of articles and give their length by characters or words. Last but not least, the plugin has a related post widget that enables you to show related articles in the most preferred place on your site. We have made sure that you can control your related post widget settings right inside the plugin for your convenience. What makes us different? The plugin is developed by professionals who have placed special importance on quality and customer satisfaction. With its intuitive interface, you don’t have to spend time getting acquainted with the functionality. Get straight to optimizing the tool to your preference and reach expected results. Allow your visitors to discover the amazing content on your page by displaying related content under articles. RELATED POSTS PLUGIN KEY FEATURES Enable for all post types: Choose to display related articles regardless of the post type. By enabling the option, you cannot exclude similar articles for some categories or post IDs. Enable for selected post types: It’s up to you to decide under which post types to show related content. Exclude for categories and/or post IDs: Just enter the category name(s) and/or post ID(s) for exclusion. This way, you don’t display similar articles under the articles that belong to the mentioned categories or have those IDs. Count of similar posts: You can decide the number of linked posts that should be displayed yourself. Display on the front page: Similar articles can also be visible on the home page if you enable the corresponding option. Display order results: The order of similar posts can be based on one of the following. Default: Similar articles will be listed according to the filtration that has taken place. No other changes will be made. Date: The ordering is done according to when articles were created. According to what you choose, the oldest or the most recent posts will appear on the list. Title: Items will be shown in an ascending or descending alphabetical order. Show meta box: The meta box that appeared under a post on the Dashboard will allow you to give central control to the filtration of the articles. Changes made inside a meta box are higher in priority and thus are more powerful. Limit post title length: You can shorten the titles of linked posts by entering a character or word count. Show post excerpt: Lastly, you can show parts of popular posts and decide their length by entering a character or word count. Pro Features Contextual related posts Display related posts on popup Display Custom HTML between the post title and post description Add to Cart button for the WooCommerce products SIMILAR POSTS RELEVANCE The Related Posts plugin for WordPress does all the hard work for you. It filters articles according to some options that you have chosen inside the plugin. The options that are responsible for filtration are on the Relevance tab. Let’s get acquainted with them. With the Order post query option, there are three ways you can filter your related content: by relevance, randomly, or by date. If chosen by relevance, the most trendy and popular posts will appear as similar articles. In the case of randomly, there’s no specified way of filtration, and random items will appear on your thumbnail-rich related posts list. Lastly, choose by date so that the system chooses the most recent posts, then proceeds with the older ones. The Only from the same option helps you decide whether to display related posts with the same type, tag, and/or format as the current article. You can select more than one of the presented ways for the similar articles list. You can also choose to display same category posts. With the Strongness of matching option, decide the way to filter your articles. The filtration can take place in one of the following ways. – Gradually weakening: The system will consider all the options that are responsible for filtering and do the work. Imagine that you have ticked all the four suboptions of the Only from the same option and have defined the count of linked posts as ten. In this case, the system will first take the items that correspond to all those four suboptions. Then, if the number of articles is not enough, the system will ignore the last suboption (post format), then the second to last one (post tag), and continue the same way unless there are ten same category posts. – And: It is a strict condition, and only those items that completely correspond to the chosen ways of filtration will be selected. Again, if you have ticked all the four suboptions of the Only from the same option and have also enabled the Limit to the same author option, the system will only take the articles that correspond to what you have chosen. Even if the numbers of found items (for instance, six) and the one that you predefined (ten) don’t correspond, it won’t matter: only six similar articles will be displayed. – Or: It is a milder condition compared with the previous ones. It suggests that the system will first take the items corresponding to the options and suboptions you have enabled. But to find the remaining number of articles, it will then consider only one suboption and start to filter articles according to it. Afterwards, the system will pick another suboption for filtration unless there are as many articles as you wish to display. The Limit to the same author option allows you to show just the same author’s works as related. Lastly, the Display only posts from the past option refers to those similar articles that should be displayed. You need to specify the period of time so that filtration can take place within it. For instance, if you enter 12 in the field and choose Days, only the articles that have been created during the last 12 days will be visible. ADVANCED STYLES The Related Posts plugin for WordPress allows you to customize the design of your related content the way you wish to. Pick one of the layouts, a text color, and thumbnail size. The thumbnail usually takes the first image inside the post. Yet, you can upload a default image for the thumbnail yourself. The plugin also enables you to write your own Custom CSS code. RESPONSIVE DESIGN As the WordPress Related Posts plugin supports responsive design, your thumbnail-rich related posts list can be visible on any device – mobile phones, tablets, and so forth. The layout of related content won’t suffer, as it’s adjusted to different screen sizes. As the number of mobile users is on the rise, we have made sure our plugin helps you increase pageviews and traffic. EASY TO USE The user interface of the plugin is very easy to navigate through, making it suitable both for beginners and developers. Besides, tooltips will come for help while trying to figure out what an option is for. CONTACT US Do you still have queries about the WordPress Related Posts plugin that haven’t been answered here? Feel free to contact us via the free Support Forum. Our customer care specialist will give comprehensive answers to your questions within a workday. Other plugins from Ays Pro Team Quiz Maker for creating advanced quizzes and exams easily and quickly. Survey Maker for collecting data and analyze it. Fox LMS a WordPress LMS plugin that makes it easy to turn knowledge into a business or community. Poll Maker for creating powerful and interactive polls. Popup Box, an easy way to create eye-catching and engaging popups. Secure Copy Content Protection to protect web content from being plagiarized. 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Deliver an ultra-responsive search experience to your visitors — no page reloads, no jQuery, no lag. Init Live Search is a modern, lightweight, and fully accessible live search solution for WordPress — now with native Block Editor (Gutenberg) blocks and Abilities API support (WordPress 6.9+), an optional MySQL FULLTEXT search index, optional Meilisearch integration, tag-aware matching, SEO metadata support, ACF integration, WooCommerce product filters, and customizable UI presets. It replaces the default with a clean, intuitive search modal powered entirely by the WordPress REST API. Everything loads in real-time — with zero disruption to browsing flow. Perfect for content-heavy blogs, WooCommerce stores, or even headless sites. Every interaction is fast, fluid, and designed to work across devices. Want typo-tolerant, sub-50ms relevance ranking on top of that? Connect your own self-hosted or cloud Meilisearch instance in a few clicks — Init Live Search will automatically prefer it for search, and just as automatically fall back to the built-in database search if it’s ever unreachable. Your visitors never see a broken search box. Prefer working entirely in the Block Editor? Three dynamic blocks — Live Search Box, Related Posts, and AI Related Posts — live under their own Init Live Search category in the block inserter, each with a live server-side preview as you configure it, and each sharing the exact same rendering code as its shortcode counterpart. For AI agents and automated tools, two read-only abilities (search and related posts) are also exposed through the standard WordPress Abilities API on WordPress 6.9+. It also brings AI-powered related posts and an advanced keyword generator — giving your visitors smarter ways to discover content. This plugin is part of the Init Plugin Suite — a collection of minimalist, fast, and developer-focused tools for WordPress. GitHub repository: https://github.com/brokensmile2103/init-live-search What’s New in Version 2.0.0 Abilities API support (WordPress 6.9+): search and related-posts exposed as two read-only, discoverable abilities (init-live-search/search-posts, init-live-search/get-related-posts) — optional and fully backward-compatible on older WordPress versions Block Editor (Gutenberg) support: three new blocks — Live Search Box, Related Posts, AI Related Posts — under their own block category, each with a live editor preview and sharing the same rendering code as their shortcode counterparts Requires at least raised from 5.9 to 6.9 to support the Abilities API. Requires PHP remains 7.4 What’s New in Version 1.8.x & 1.9.x Optional FULLTEXT Search Index (1.9.5): opt-in MySQL FULLTEXT-indexed table for Title/Excerpt/Content, replacing slow LIKE '%term%' scans on large sites. Off by default, auto-builds in the background via WP-Cron once enabled (no SSH/WP-CLI needed), with wp init-live-search fulltext-reindex available for a manual/faster build. See “FULLTEXT Search Index” below for details. Optional Meilisearch Integration: connect your own Meilisearch server (self-hosted or cloud) as the primary search engine Typo-tolerant, relevance-ranked, sub-50ms search results straight from Meilisearch Automatic, transparent fallback to the local database search whenever Meilisearch is disabled, unreachable, or misconfigured — search availability is never compromised New Meilisearch settings tab: Host URL, Index Name, Search Key, Admin/Indexing Key, request timeout, one-click “Test Connection”, and (1.9.5) a one-click “Reindex Now” button for sites without WP-CLI/SSH access Posts are synced automatically on publish/update/trash/delete (non-blocking — won’t slow down the editor) WP-CLI command wp init-live-search meili-reindex for bulk-indexing or rebuilding the entire index Sensitive indexing key can be defined via the INIT_LIVE_SEARCH_MEILI_ADMIN_KEY constant in wp-config.php instead of the database, for extra security AI-Powered Related Posts: brand new [init_live_search_related_ai] shortcode Uses multi-signal scoring (tags, series, title bigrams, same_keyword via ACF, category, views, comments, freshness) Shares templates with [init_live_search_related_posts] (no extra styling needed) Fully filterable via new developer hooks: ai_candidates, ai_signals, ai_weights, ai_score Advanced Keyword Generator: upgraded algorithm for admin keyword suggestions Replaced TF-IDF with BM25 term weighting Added NPMI (fixed probability base) and Log-Likelihood Ratio (Dunning) for collocation strength Generates bigrams and trigrams for richer, more specific keyword suggestions Cross-document frequency penalty down-ranks phrases that are too generic across the site MMR (Maximal Marginal Relevance) selection ensures diverse, non-redundant final keywords Title-only source: clean signal, no excerpt noise, works reliably across all site types Unicode-safe, locale-aware stop words (Vietnamese & English), and soft fallback mode 404 Smart Redirect Added “Auto Redirect 404 to Best Match” mode driven by Init Live Search scoring Fully respects “Post Types to Include” settings Uses unified resolver + filters for extensible post-type handling Safety checks to avoid loops, invalid targets, and cross-type mismatches Developer Filters Expansion New filters added for AI related posts and keyword signals Complete list now includes over 20 filters (*_fallback, *_post_ids, *_results, *_weights, *_commands, etc.) Developers can hook into candidate pools, signal scores, and schema output with fine-grained control Performance Optimizations Smarter candidate pooling for related posts (recent + context-based) Pre-cached scoring loop for AI signals to minimize queries Safer regex handling in keyword processing to avoid PCRE errors Reduced memory footprint in bigram statistics without sacrificing accuracy Backward Compatible Enhancements [init_live_search_related_posts] and [init_live_search_related_ai] now share the same rendering pipeline Existing templates, schema, and CSS continue to work without modification Auto insert related posts still works and can be switched to AI mode via shortcode override Features Packed with everything a modern live search needs — and more: Live search via REST API (no admin-ajax, no jQuery) NEW: Block Editor (Gutenberg) blocks — Live Search Box, Related Posts, and AI Related Posts — under their own block category, each with a live server-side preview in the editor NEW: Abilities API support (WordPress 6.9+) — search and related posts exposed as discoverable, executable abilities via wp_get_abilities() and the wp-abilities/v1 REST namespace NEW: Optional MySQL FULLTEXT search index — faster Title/Excerpt/Content matching than LIKE queries on the built-in database search, auto-builds in the background NEW: Optional Meilisearch integration — typo-tolerant, relevance-ranked external search with automatic fallback to local DB search Smart tag-aware search mode (title + tag match) SEO metadata support: Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, SEOPress, TSF ACF field matching and customizable filters Synonym expansion with fallback scoring logic Slash commands: /recent, /popular, /tag, /id, /sku, /price, /coupon, etc. WooCommerce support: search by product, SKU, brand, attribute, variation, coupon Clean modal UI with keyboard navigation (↑ ↓ Enter Esc) Optional voice input (SpeechRecognition) Tooltip Quick Search (select text to trigger) Favorites system via heart icon or /fav commands Infinite scroll and smart category filter (no extra API) Deep linking: ?modal=search&term=... New [init_live_search] shortcode: insert input or icon anywhere UI presets: default, fullscreen, topbar — with full CSS override Local caching + analytics (CSV export, no personal data) Developer-ready: custom slash commands, REST filters, JS hooks Dark Mode Support Enable dark mode for the modal by either: Adding the dark class: document.querySelector(‘#ils-modal’)?.classList.add(‘dark’); Or using a global config: window.InitPluginSuiteLiveSearchConfig = { theme: ‘dark’ }; Options: dark, light, auto Admin Settings Choose post types to include in search Enable an optional MySQL FULLTEXT search index for faster Title/Excerpt/Content matching, with automatic background indexing Connect an optional Meilisearch server (Host, Index, Search/Admin keys, timeout, one-click connection test, one-click Reindex Now) Configure modal triggers (input focus, triple click, Ctrl+/) Enable slash commands (e.g. /recent, /tag, /id) Enable support for + and - keyword operators (must-have, must-not-have) Set default slash command to run on modal open (only if slash is enabled) Set debounce time and max results Choose search mode (title-only, tag-aware, full content) Define custom ACF fields to include in search (optional) Enable Search in SEO Metadata (Yoast, Rank Math, etc.) Toggle excerpt display below each result (1-line contextual snippet) Toggle fallback logic (bigram/trim) Enable synonym expansion and manage synonym mappings (JSON editor) Enable Search Analytics to log queries (no personal data stored) Set max words for tooltip search Enable voice input (SpeechRecognition API) Enable result caching (localStorage) Choose frontend UI style (default, fullscreen, or topbar) Allow theme override via init-live-search/style.css Automatically insert related posts after content or comments (optional) Option to disable all built-in CSS completely Add default UTM parameter to result links Define or auto-generate keyword suggestions FULLTEXT Search Index (Optional) The built-in database search normally uses LIKE '%term%' queries, which can’t use a regular index and get slow on sites with a large number of posts. Tick FULLTEXT Search Index (Settings → Init Live Search → General) to sync Title/Excerpt/Content into a dedicated indexed table (your wp_posts table is untouched) and match with MySQL’s MATCH() AGAINST() instead. Once enabled, the index builds itself automatically in the background via WP-Cron — no SSH/WP-CLI needed — or you can speed things up with wp init-live-search fulltext-reindex. If your server doesn’t support FULLTEXT, or the index isn’t built yet, the plugin simply keeps using the standard LIKE-based search — nothing ever breaks. Tag search, SEO metadata, ACF fields, synonyms, and the +/- operators all keep working the same either way. Meilisearch Integration (Optional) Init Live Search works great out of the box with zero setup — the built-in database search handles everything by default. But if you want faster, typo-tolerant, relevance-ranked search at scale, you can connect your own Meilisearch instance in a few minutes. How it works: Install and run Meilisearch yourself — self-hosted (a small VPS is plenty for most blogs) or via Meilisearch Cloud. This plugin does not host or manage a server for you. Go to Settings → Init Live Search → Meilisearch, enter your Host URL, Index Name, and a search-only API key, then enable the integration. Index your existing published content either by running wp init-live-search meili-reindex via WP-CLI, or by clicking the “Reindex Now” button right on the Meilisearch settings tab (handy if you don’t have WP-CLI/SSH access) — it runs in the background (~200 posts every 5 seconds) with a live progress status. That’s it — search requests are now answered by Meilisearch. New, updated, and deleted posts stay in sync automatically. Built for safety, not lock-in: If Meilisearch is disabled, unconfigured, or fails to respond (timeout, wrong key, server down), the plugin automatically and silently falls back to the local database search — visitors never see a broken search box. Reindexing (via the button or WP-CLI) is always manual-only, and auto-stops with a clear error after 3 consecutive failed batches instead of retrying forever. Your sensitive indexing key can live in wp-config.php (INIT_LIVE_SEARCH_MEILI_ADMIN_KEY) instead of the database. Turn it off any time — nothing about your site’s core search behavior depends on Meilisearch being present. Keyboard Shortcuts Arrow Up / Down — navigate between results Arrow Right — add selected result to favorites (if not already added) Arrow Left — remove selected result from favorites Enter — open selected result or submit Escape — close modal and reset state Slash (/) — start a command instantly (e.g., /recent, /id 123) Developer Reference: Shortcodes, Filters, and Hooks Shortcodes [init_live_search] Display a search icon or input anywhere that opens the Init Live Search modal. Attributes: – type: icon (default) or input – choose between a clickable icon or a search box – placeholder: (optional) text inside the input if type="input" – label: (optional) adds a label next to the icon if type="icon" – class: (optional) add custom classes like dark, my-style, etc. – stroke_width: (optional) set the stroke width for the search icon (default: 1) – radius: (optional) override the border radius of the input form (default: 9999px from CSS; only applied if value differs) [init_live_search_related_posts] Display a list of related posts (static HTML) based on post title or keyword, optimized for SEO and fully themable. Attributes: – id: (optional) the post ID to find related posts for (defaults to current post) – count: (optional) number of posts to display (default: 5) – keyword: (optional) override the keyword used for finding related posts – template: (optional) layout template to use — default, grid, classic, compact, thumbright – css: 1 (default) or 0 – disable default CSS if you want to fully style it yourself – schema: 1 (default) or 0 – disable JSON-LD ItemList output for SEO schema [init_live_search_related_ai] Display a list of AI-powered related posts using multi-signal scoring (tags, series, title bigrams, same_keyword via ACF, category, views, comments, freshness). Uses the same templates as [init_live_search_related_posts], so no extra styling is required. Attributes: – id: (optional) the post ID to find related posts for (defaults to current post) – count: (optional) number of posts to display (default: 5) – post_type: (optional) restrict results to one or more post types (default: post) – template: (optional) layout template to use — default, grid, classic, compact, thumbright – css: 1 (default) or 0 – disable default CSS if you want to fully style it yourself – schema: 1 (default) or 0 – disable JSON-LD ItemList output for SEO schema Filters for Developers Init Live Search includes many filters to help developers customize behavior and output at various stages of the search flow. Full documentation (with code samples & advanced usage): Using Filters in Init Live Search Popular filters init_plugin_suite_live_search_enable_fallback Enable or disable fallback logic when few results are found. init_plugin_suite_live_search_post_ids Customize the array of post IDs returned from the query. init_plugin_suite_live_search_result_item Modify each result item before it’s sent in the response. init_plugin_suite_live_search_results Filter the final array of results before being returned. init_plugin_suite_live_search_query_args Modify WP_Query arguments for different commands. init_plugin_suite_live_search_ai_weights Adjust AI scoring weights for related posts. (…and more in the full docs) REST API Endpoints Fully documented, lightweight, and API-first endpoints. Ideal for headless or decoupled builds. All endpoints are under namespace: initlise/v1 Full documentation (with examples & parameters): REST API Endpoints in Init Live Search Popular endpoints /search?term=example Standard search query (uses plugin settings like post types, search mode, fallback…). /id/{id} Fetch a post by ID (returns permalink). /recent Fetch the most recent posts. /tax?taxonomy=category&term=slug-or-id Fetch posts by taxonomy (category, tag, or custom). /related?title=page-title&exclude=ID Fetch posts related to the current page title. /product?... Fetch WooCommerce products with flexible query parameters. (…and more in the full docs) License This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. You are free to use, modify, and distribute it under the same license.