Init Live Search – AI-Powered, Related Posts, Slash Commands vs AI Search for WooCommerce – Semantic Search

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.

Queryra is an AI search plugin for WooCommerce and WordPress — a semantic search engine that understands what customers mean, not just what they type. Your customer types “present for my girlfriend”. Your WooCommerce store returns: 0 results. You sell gift boxes, perfumes, skincare sets — exactly what she’d love. But default WooCommerce search can’t connect “present for girlfriend” to “Gift Box”. Your customer leaves. Sale lost. This happens every day. 👉 Try AI Search live → WooCommerce demo store — 220+ products across 10 brands. Search naturally and see the difference. What is AI Search for WooCommerce? AI Search replaces WooCommerce’s default product search with semantic search that understands meaning. Your products stay the same. Your store stays the same. Search just works. Trusted compatibility: Oxygen Builder, Breakdance, Meta Box, TranslatePress, Weglot, MemberPress, B2BKing, and more. Default WooCommerce search → 0 results: ❌ “my skin looks tired” ❌ “gift for mom who loves candles” ❌ “looking older than my age” Same store with AI Search → products found: ✅ “my skin looks tired” → Night creams, recovery oils, eye patches ✅ “gift for mom who loves candles” → Scented candles, home fragrance sets ✅ “looking older than my age” → Anti-aging serums, firming creams Beyond Semantic Search AI Search goes further than vector search alone. A natural language query like “wireless headphones under $80, not Beats” applies the price filter AND excludes the brand automatically. No other WooCommerce AI search plugin does this. AI Search works as an AI product search engine for WooCommerce — handling intent-aware queries, ChatGPT-style natural language, and B2B wholesale bulk search. Powered by vector embeddings and LLM intent parsing. AI Search Compatible Plugins Queryra has confirmed integrations and tested compatibility with leading WordPress plugins: Page Builders: * Oxygen Builder — full Oxygen 4.x and 6.0 support, automatic content extraction * Breakdance — native Breakdance content indexing Custom Fields: * Meta Box — text and group fields indexed automatically * ACF (Free + Pro) — text, textarea, WYSIWYG, repeaters, groups Multilingual: * TranslatePress — single unified semantic index across all languages * Weglot — multilingual semantic search Membership & Affiliate: * MemberPress — semantic search across member-only content; MemberPress continues to gate the content itself at render time * Easy Affiliate Pro — affiliate product search with custom fields B2B: * B2BKing — semantic AI search in bulk order forms (new in 1.4.1) More integrations and developer docs → queryra.com/docs AI Search for Page Builders & Custom Fields Page builder content used to be invisible to WordPress search. Queryra fixes this — AI search now reads everything your visitors see: Elementor AI search — indexes content stored in _elementor_data, including text widgets, headings, and product descriptions built with Elementor Beaver Builder & Breakdance — full content extraction from saved layouts Oxygen Builder — both legacy shortcode mode and modern JSON v2 supported Gutenberg / WPBakery / Divi — native support (content already in post_content) AI Search for Custom Fields & Taxonomies Most product data lives in custom fields, not the post content. Queryra reads it automatically: ACF (Free + Pro) — text, textarea, WYSIWYG, repeaters, and groups indexed without configuration Meta Box — text fields and group fields via the official registry Custom taxonomies — book_genre, material, property_type, or any public custom taxonomy is sent to the AI search index, keyed by slug Pods, JetEngine, Bricks Builder — supported via developer filter queryra_indexable_meta_content Smart filtering automatically excludes CSS values, hex colors, URLs, and dates from the semantic search index — keeping AI relevance high. Make Your Store Discoverable by AI AI Search doesn’t just help your customers — it helps AI assistants find your store. Queryra automatically generates structured data and AI-readable files so ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude can recommend your products. Dynamic /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt for AI crawlers JSON-LD structured data on search pages X-Search-Engine header for AI attribution Want extra visibility? Partner Program — qualifying sites can apply for Queryra at no cost. See Partner Program details. Site promotion — your site gets featured on queryra.com and promoted across AI search platforms WordPress 7.0 Connectors API & Abilities API Queryra is a native WordPress 7.0 AI search connector. After activation, Queryra appears in Settings → Connectors alongside OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google — giving site owners a unified place to manage AI search configuration. Connectors API — Queryra registers as an AI search connector. Manage your Queryra API key from the standard WordPress 7.0 Connectors screen. Abilities API — Queryra exposes queryra/semantic-search as a discoverable ability. AI agents, chatbots, and assistants running on WordPress 7.0 can call Queryra natively for semantic product search. Backward compatible — Queryra works on WordPress 5.8+. Connector and ability features activate automatically on WordPress 7.0 and newer. Queryra is one of the early AI semantic search plugins to register as a WordPress 7.0 connector — making API key management consistent with other AI providers in Settings → Connectors. AI Search Setup in 5 Minutes ✅ Free demo — no credit card required ✅ No OpenAI account needed ✅ WooCommerce AI search ready in 5 minutes Start your free demo → Install and activate Follow the Setup Wizard Get your free API key at queryra.com/signup One-click WooCommerce product import Done — AI search now understands your customers No coding. No configuration headaches. WooCommerce AI Search Setup Guide → WooCommerce Product Search Features Natural Language Search – Customers type like they think, AI search finds what they need WooCommerce Product Search – Indexes titles, descriptions, SKUs, categories, tags, and attributes Semantic Search Ranking – AI ranks results by meaning, not alphabetical order Boost Controls – Promote products you want to sell more of Live Product Search – Instant AJAX-powered suggestions as customers type Auto-Sync – New WooCommerce products indexed automatically on publish Smart Context Detection – AI search activates on WooCommerce shop pages automatically Search Analytics – See what customers search for, including zero-result queries Page Builder Support – Indexes content from Elementor, Beaver Builder, Breakdance, Oxygen automatically Custom Field Indexing – Reads ACF and Meta Box custom fields out of the box WooCommerce Product Search Works With Any Store Beauty & Skincare – “my skin looks tired” finds night creams Fashion – “something for a summer wedding” finds dresses Electronics – “good laptop for video editing” finds the right specs Home & Garden – “cozy living room” finds rugs, lamps, pillows Food & Beverage – “healthy snacks for kids” finds the right products Semantic Search for WordPress Content Queryra’s semantic search also works with regular WordPress content — posts, pages, and custom post types. Well-suited for knowledge bases, blogs, and FAQ sections. AI Search for B2B and Wholesale Stores AI Search includes native B2BKing integration starting from version 1.4.1. The bulk order form’s keyword search is replaced with semantic AI product search — your B2B buyers find products by intent, not just exact SKUs or names. Wholesale-specific use cases supported: “warm jackets for winter — bulk order” “shirts in cotton, breathable, wholesale pricing” “keychains and accessories — high quantity” B2B visibility rules (group restrictions, per-product permissions, category-level access) are fully respected. Works for B2BKing, B2BWoo, and manual B2B WooCommerce setups. Why Replace Default WooCommerce Search? Default WooCommerce product search matches exact words. If your product is “Velora Overnight Recovery Oil” and someone types “my skin looks tired”, they get nothing. AI search fixes that — customers find products even with vague or natural language queries. Why Queryra vs Other WooCommerce Product Search Plugins? No OpenAI Account Required — Queryra includes its own search backend, so you don’t need to create a separate OpenAI account or manage external API keys. Indexed on YOUR WooCommerce Store — Queryra learns from YOUR products, descriptions, and categories — not generic global data. Intent-Aware AI Search — Most semantic search plugins only match meaning. Queryra goes further: “wireless headphones under $80, not Beats” applies the price filter AND excludes the brand. Vector-only plugins ignore both. Why vector search isn’t enough → Privacy Queryra is built with privacy in mind. This section explains exactly what data leaves your WordPress site, what stays local, and how you stay in control as the store owner. What Queryra sends to the API Content indexing (posts, pages, products): For every published item of the post types you enable (default: posts and pages; optionally products), Queryra sends: Title, content, excerpt (HTML stripped) Post type, permalink, featured image URL Categories and tags (names only) For WooCommerce products: price, stock quantity, SKU, brand, short description, product attributes (e.g. Color, Size) Featured/sticky flag (used to boost ranking of highlighted content) That’s it. This is the same data your site already shows publicly on the frontend — Queryra does not read private posts, drafts, or protected content. Search queries: When a visitor types in your search box, only the query text is sent to the API. The API returns matching post IDs, which WordPress then renders normally from your own database. Anonymous usage analytics: On plugin lifecycle events (activation, deactivation, setup milestones and error reports), Queryra sends: a randomly generated instance UUID (stored locally, no link to any user), WordPress version, PHP version, plugin version, WooCommerce active flag, whether AI search is switched on, which content types you enabled for indexing, and counts of posts, pages, products and public custom post types. This helps us prioritize compatibility fixes. You can disable this entirely by adding the following line to your wp-config.php: define('QUERYRA_DISABLE_ANALYTICS', true); Site profile (optional, user-declared): When the setup wizard opens you may optionally answer what kind of site you run and what you expect from search. Your answer is sent to Queryra once and is not stored on your site; only a small flag stays locally so the question is not asked twice. Skipping sends no answer — only the fact that you skipped, so we can tell a decline apart from never having seen the question. You can answer or update it at any time in Settings → Site Profile. Deactivation feedback (optional): If you choose to submit the feedback form when deactivating, your selected reason and comments are sent to Queryra together with your site URL, the plugin version and — only if you enter one — your email address for a reply. Skipping the form sends no feedback content; the deactivation event records only whether the form was submitted, skipped, or never shown. What Queryra NEVER sends No visitor IP addresses No user agents or browser fingerprints No cookies or session identifiers No customer accounts, emails, or order data No browsing history or behavior tracking No personally identifiable information (PII) about searchers or customers No private, draft, password-protected or unpublished content Your control as a store owner Choose which post types are indexed (Settings → Queryra) Disable AI search anytime — WordPress falls back to native search Deactivate the plugin to stop all data transmission Delete indexed records from the Queryra dashboard Security Queryra is publicly tracked by independent security and quality services: WPScan vulnerability database PluginTests static analysis and smoke tests Source code on GitHub No third-party frontend scripts: Queryra loads only its own minimal stylesheet on public pages. No external JavaScript, no tracking pixels, no third-party CDN requests on the frontend. Responsible disclosure: Found a security issue? Email [email protected]. We will investigate on a best-effort basis and credit reporters in the changelog. Full privacy policy: queryra.com/privacy Additional Information Support AI Search Documentation FAQ WooCommerce Product Search Setup Email: [email protected] Links WooCommerce AI Search Live Demo Partner Program WooCommerce Search & AI Product Discovery Blog GitHub