Smart Search for Users
The Smart Search advanced search tool combines easy natural-language searches with artificial intelligence to produce deep, specific searches. You can use ordinary language to search for information without having to use or learn a formal query language.
Smart Search returns a list of agreement documents that match all your search queries, from any records, regardless of where they are stored. For a document to be considered for Smart Search, it must be attached to an agreement as either a File, an Agreement Document, or a Document Version Detail (File), and must be in .docx or .pdf format.
Smart Search is deployed for Conga customers using the Conga base library.
Using Smart Search, you can:
- Search information using keywords, semantics, regular expressions, 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 a PDF viewer.
- Download the document.
- Email your 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.
Limitations
Be aware of the following limitations when using Smart Search:
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Email and export options do not work when you search using search operators.
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You cannot remove queries displayed below the search bar using the remove icon (
).
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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
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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:
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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.
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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. Make sure 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. |