Technology
This is what a modern, AI-assisted search experience looks like
Tiia Ohtokallio
In our previous post, we noted a fact: search on most websites is broken. It's like a dead end that frustrates even the most motivated customers and negatively impacts the customer experience. But what if search could be an intelligent and helpful conversational partner?
What if the search not only understood what the customer is asking but also anticipated what they might need next?
A modern AI search is a powerful and unified solution that improves customer satisfaction and engagement, deepens customer understanding, and increases conversion. So what makes it so superior? Let’s take a look.
What does a modern search look and feel like?
It understands people
A modern search experience is above all natural and effortless. It doesn’t force the user to learn the machine’s language; instead, the machine understands the person.
We are used to Google understanding us, even when we type entire sentences or make spelling mistakes. Because of this, traditional website searches often feel old-fashioned and clumsy. People simply no longer want to use them according to the old rules.
A modern AI search brings a Google-level experience to your online service. It’s designed to be fully accessible:
- It can interpret spelling mistakes and understand what the user meant.
- You can search with a whole sentence or part of one, as the AI can pick up the right context.
- It understands synonyms and inflections, so the user doesn’t have to know the exact right term to find what they’re looking for.
It converses and remembers
One of the most revolutionary differences is its conversational ability. The AI search doesn’t treat every query as separate; it remembers previous questions within the same session. The browser-specific session persists as long as the browser is open, which allows for a natural conversation.
A user can first ask generally, “What kind of climate impact audits do you do?” and then follow up with “How much does the cheapest one cost?” and the AI understands the context without the user needing to repeat themselves.
It provides answers, not just lists of links
Traditional search gives you a list of links. AI search does the work for you and provides a direct, summarized answer.
In addition to this, you can guide the language model to highlight specific content. For example, with prompting instructions, you can ensure that when a user asks about audits, the summary automatically includes a mention of a current offer, such as, “Remember our August offer: Climate audit now only 1000 €.”
Comparison: Traditional Search vs. Modern AI Search
Feature |
Traditional search |
Modern AI search |
| Search method | Often requires a precise, single keyword. | Understands full sentences, questions, and parts of them. |
| Language comprehension | Doesn’t understand synonyms or inflections. Doesn’t understand searches with spelling mistakes. | Recognizes synonyms, inflections, and automatically corrects spelling errors. |
| Context | Each search is separate. No connection between searches. | Conversational. Remembers previous questions during the session and understands the context. |
| Result | Provides a list of links. | Provides a concise, direct answer and allows for highlighting additional information and including related links. |
What about data security? You own your data and it stays safe.
In AI solutions, reliability is everything, and Hion AI Search is designed to meet enterprise-level data security and data management requirements. As a customer, you always retain full ownership of your data, which is used solely to improve your service – never to train general AI models. The service’s full GDPR compliance is guaranteed, as all data is processed and stored in Finland at Google’s Hamina data center. The solution’s strong foundation is Google’s scalable Vertex AI Search platform, and its ISO 27001-certified environment ensures robust data protection.
How does this improve your business?
An effortless and intelligent search reduces friction in the customer journey, which improves customer satisfaction and engagement. When customers find what they’re looking for quickly, their likelihood of making a purchase also increases. At the same time, search data provides deeper customer insights: it tells you what your customers are looking for and what content they need. Furthermore, search acts as a new, effective marketing channel, allowing you to highlight tactical offers and messages directly in the search results.
It’s time to leave dead-end search fields in the past and step into a future where your online service truly understands its users.
Do you want to see what an AI-assisted search like Hion AI Search would look like on your website? Book a 30-minute personal demo with our expert, and we’ll show you the future today.
Do you want to hear more about AI search?
Send us a message, and we'll book a joint demo session where you can see how an AI search would work specifically for you!
