Smart Search to Search Content in Agreement Documents in Lightning
Smart Search is a metadata-driven search tool in Conga CLM that allows users to quickly locate agreements, clauses or related documents based on indexed fields, agreement status, agreement types and custom metadata. It supports advanced filtering, saved search queries, and dynamic search panels making it easier to find relevant content without needing to scroll through agreement records manually.
The Smart Search feature allows you to search for information without the need to understand the working of CLM. This feature allows you to find information of any record regardless of where the information is stored. Smart Search supports natural language search. This means you can search for information in CLM using everyday language. The search returns a list of agreement documents that match all your search queries.
You can use Smart Search in Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Webchat similar to a chatbot. You can also configure a quick search box on the Home page to initiate your search on the Home page. For more information, see Setting Up Quick Search on the Home Page.
Using Smart Search, you can:
- Search information using keywords, queries, semantic, and natural language.
- Configure the fields that you can see on the search grid.
- View the content snippet that contains the search query.
- Preview the document.
- Open the document in PDF viewer.
- Download the document.
- Email the search results.
- Apply filters and conditions to narrow down the search results.
- Use search operators such as AND and OR.
- Save, edit, and delete search queries and make them private or available to the other users in your org.
You can perform the following types of search. Contact the Conga Support team to add custom synonyms in the Smart Search.
|
Search Type |
Description |
Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Keywords |
Search with objects within the scope |
|
|
Search operators |
Search with search operators (AND, OR). You can specify a main object as well as a related object. |
|
|
Search operator + Keyword |
Search with search operators and keywords |
Agreement Start Date greater than “1/1/2021” AND Agreement End Date less than “31/1/2021” + Keyword “Force Majeure” |
|
Context-Driven or scope |
Narrow down query scope with specific inputs |
Agreement Start Date greater than “1/1/2021” AND Record Type = MSA AND (Account Type equals “Customer” OR Account Industry equals “Manufacturing” |
|
Natural language |
Search in everyday language using a main object |
|
|
Natural language with nested |
Search in everyday language using a main object and related object |
Pull up the service clauses for agreements over $20k |
|
Natural language with nested and Keywords |
Search in everyday language using a main object, related object, documents, and clause text |
Find all agreements over 100K which have a Force Majeure mentioned in them. |
|
Natural language with nested, keywords, and boolean expressions |
Search in everyday language using a main object, related object, documents, and clause text along with boolean expressions |
|
|
Natural language nested, keywords, and synonyms |
Search in everyday language using a main object, related object, documents, and clause text along with synonyms |
|
|
Natural language nested, keywords, synonyms, and boolean expressions |
Search in everyday language using a main object, related object, documents, and clause text along with synonyms and boolean expressions |
Pull up agreements over 100K which contain an Act of God but not Indemnification |
|
Natural language nested, keywords, synonyms, boolean expressions, and scope |
Search in everyday language using a main object, related object, documents, and clause text along with Boolean Expressions and scope |
Find all agreements of type MSA over 100K which mentions both Act of God and Limitation of Liability |
|
Basic semantic |
Search with keywords along with context |
Pull up top three agreements from last year |
Smart Search can save hours of manual searching and significantly improve compliance and speed but only if metadata hygiene is maintained and search panels are tailored for end-user needs. The accuracy and consistency are limited if the document database is large.
Limitations
Be aware of the following limitations when using Smart Search:
-
Email and export options do not work when you search using search operators.
-
You cannot remove queries displayed below the search bar using the remove icon (
).
- Smart Search does not interpret or extract meaning from the natural language text within documents. It is only able to analyze the structured data stored in fields on the agreement record.For example, consider the input query "Show me agreements that expire in April 2026" for:
- Agreement 1
- Contract End Date field is empty.
- The attached document to the agreement states "This contract expires one year from the effective date, April 2, 2025."
- Agreement 2
- Contract End Date field is set to 04/23/2026.
- The attached document to the agreement states "This contract expires one year from the effective date, April 23, 2025."
In this scenario, Smart Search returns only Agreement 2 since the end date is explicitly populated.
- Agreement 1
-
While some full-text capabilities exist, it does not function like Google Search for inside-PDF content.
-
Newly uploaded agreements or edits may take a few minutes to appear in search.
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Supports Word and PDF formats only.
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Attach documents to the Agreement object under one of the following locations:
-
Some fields may require exact matches or be sensitive to formatting depending on configuration.
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Smart Search does not perform OCR on documents. Image-based PDFs must be OCR'd using another tool before their content can be searched or appear in Smart Search results.
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When Smart Search determines that a query seeks to search in documents, then the maximum of number of results is 2,000. These search results can also be affected by user access permissions. In large agreement repositories, additional filters may be required to ensure relevant and accessible agreements appear in results. For more information, see SOSL Limits on Search Results and SOQL and SOSL Limits for Search Queries.
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Since Smart Search does not index the full body of documents like a full-text search engine, searches are only as accurate as the fields used and how well they are maintained. For example, a missing clause type tag prevents that agreement from appearing in a clause search.
Best Use Cases
Smart Search is especially useful for:
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Quickly finding agreements by status, date, party name, or type.
-
Locating agreements that contain specific clauses or terms.
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Tracking renewals or expirations within a time window.
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Reviewing agreement obligations or risk indicators.
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Enabling legal and procurement teams to audit content efficiently.
Best Practices for Using Smart Search
Follow these best practices to improve search results and efficiency:
| Practice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Use saved filters | Create saved searches for common queries (for example, "All agreements expiring in 90 days"). |
| Tag agreements consistently | Ensure fields like region, type, party, and status are consistently filled to enable meaningful filters. |
| Train teams on metadata usage | A search is only as effective as your metadata. Ensure users understand what fields to update. |
| Limit access based on roles | Access to search results depends on assigned profile permissions. |
| Leverage search panels | Customize panels for legal, sales, or procurement teams to suit their workflows. |
| Export and email results | Export results to CSV, XLS, PDF files, with the option to email the file. |
