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

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 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. 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 1.8.x 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) 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 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 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.

Know how Attend a Webinar to learn the specifics of the search engine of your choice. Ask support if you’d like us to run another webinar. Demos Watch 111+ product demos, setup guides, and feature walkthroughs on our YouTube channel. Guides PostgreSQL | Unified SQL + AI search OpenSearch | Elasticsearch-compatible + AI search Weaviate | Pioneering AI search Vespa.ai | Large-scale AI search Elasticsearch | Popular full-text search Apache Solr | Pioneering full-text search Why Self-hosted | Keep your data private with local deployments and lower infrastructure costs Fast | Proven performance across millions of documents, products, and media Scalable | Stay responsive through peak traffic, including Black Friday-scale demand Fewer Zero-Results | Help users find relevant results from vague queries instead of frustrating empty pages Features Docker-ready | Launch enterprise search quickly with six self-hosted engines AI Search | Understand meaning to surface more relevant results Classic Search | Match exact keywords with precision and speed Real-Time Suggestions | Speed up discovery with instant search suggestions Faceted Filters | Help users narrow large catalogs effortlessly Recommendations | Increase discovery with smart related content suggestions Ready for More? Start with WPSOLR Free, then unlock enterprise-grade search and AI capabilities with WPSOLR Enterprise: Hosted Search Providers – Connect to managed search platforms such as Weaviate, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Bonsai, OpenSolr, and SearchStax. AI Recommendations – Increase conversions with personalized recommendations based on user behavior and business goals, including best sellers, frequently bought together, and related products. Based on Recombee, Algolia Recommend, Amazon Personalize. AI Search Personalization – Automatically rank results based on what is most likely to convert for each visitor. Advanced Faceting – Powerful filtering widgets including number ranges, sliders, date pickers, and color selectors. WooCommerce Add-on – Display Add to Cart buttons directly in search suggestions and manage in-stock and out-of-stock products. ACF Add-on – Search all Advanced Custom Fields content, including repeaters, flexible content, and media files. Integration Hub – Export content and files to popular processing pipelines including Amazon S3, Amazon SQS, Google Cloud Storage, Google Cloud Pub/Sub, Google Cloud Dataflow, Kafka, and RabbitMQ. Document Chunking & Citations – Search within documents and files with precise citations to matching content. And much more… ✓ Free trial on your test environment ✓ Simple download, no commitment ✓ Full feature access ✓ Compatible with your existing WPSOLR configuration via settings export/import Download your free trial. Don’t want the hassle of self-hosting? Let us manage your search engine with our fully hosted plans. WPSOLR Hosting for OpenSearch Other engines coming soon