---
title: Auto-complete suggestions in AI Search applications
description: Automatically display intelligent suggestions in your search application's input field, helping users formulate their searches or jump directly to relevant results. Suggestions can include relevant search results, popular queries, recent queries from the user's personal history, and popular search results.AI Search provides multiple types of auto-complete suggestions that you can configure for display to users in the search field.Modify default settings for display of auto-complete suggestions of a selected type in your search application's input field.Disable the display of auto-complete suggestions of a selected type in your search application's input field.Re-enable the display of auto-complete suggestions of a selected type in your search application's input field.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/auto-complete-ais.html
release: australia
product: AI Search
classification: ai-search
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 8
breadcrumb: [Search application configurations, Configure, AI Search, Search administration, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---

# Auto-complete suggestions in AI Search applications

Automatically display intelligent suggestions in your search application's input field, helping users formulate their searches or jump directly to relevant results. Suggestions can include relevant search results, popular queries, recent queries from the user's personal history, and popular search results.

When you create a search application configuration, AI Search automatically populates it with auto-complete suggestion types. The settings for these suggestion types control the appearance of auto-complete suggestions when users interact with its input field.

Each auto-complete suggestion type includes default settings that you can configure to suit your application's needs. It also includes one or more search suggestion readers, which generate search query and search result suggestions.

You can remove an unwanted suggestion type from your search application configuration. If you want to restore a removed suggestion type, you can relink it to your search application configuration. You can only link one auto-complete suggestion source of each type to any given search application configuration.

Auto-complete suggestions are generated by the Search Suggestions application. For full details on configuration and use of the Search Suggestions application, see [Search Suggestions](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/search-suggestions/search-suggestions-overview.md).

AI Search uses a dedicated relevancy model to rank records for display as auto-complete suggestions in the search field. This relevancy model scores records based on their freshness and on search query term matches in their **title** fields. The system doesn't train this auto-complete suggestion relevancy model. For more details on relevancy models, see [Machine learning relevancy in AI Search](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/machine-learning-relevancy-ais.md).

**Parent Topic:**[Search application configurations](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/defining-search-app-cfgs-ais.md)

## List of auto-complete suggestion types for AI Search applications

AI Search provides multiple types of auto-complete suggestions that you can configure for display to users in the search field.

The following auto-complete suggestion types are available for linking to search application configurations that specify AI Search as their search engine.

**Note:** Not all auto-complete suggestion types are available for the search application configurations included in the base system.

<table id="table_kts_rqn_4tb"><thead><tr><th>

Auto-complete suggestion type

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Popular Search Reader Group for &lt;application name&gt;

</td><td>

Displays search query suggestions based on searches submitted by all users of the search application. When you create a search application configuration, this suggestion reader group isn't linked to it by default.

 Default section header: `Popular searches`

 Readers: Popular Query Reader

</td></tr><tr><td>

Recent Search Reader Group for &lt;application name&gt;

</td><td>

Displays search query suggestions based on the user's previous searches. Default section header: `Recent searches`

 Included readers: User History Reader

</td></tr><tr><td>

Search-based Suggested Results Reader Group for &lt;application name&gt;

</td><td>

Displays titles and tables for search result suggestions based on a search for the terms entered in the search field. This search applies search source filters, stop word and synonym dictionaries, and result improvement rules from the search application's linked search profile. AI Search treats the last term in the search field specially, as follows:

-   If the last term in the search field is followed by a space, AI Search treats it as a literal search term. As an example, `act` followed by a space matches results containing the term `act`.
-   If the last term in the search field isn't followed by a space, AI Search treats it as a wildcard search prefix. For example, `act` without following space matches results containing the terms `act`, `action`, `activated`, `actuated`, and so on.

 Selecting a suggested search result opens it as follows:

-   Catalog Item results open in Service Catalog.
-   Knowledge article results open in Knowledge.
-   Other results open in form view.

**Note:** If the suggested search result is an attachment, selecting it opens its parent record in form view.


 Default section header: `Suggested`

 Included readers: Search Based Suggestion Reader

</td></tr><tr><td>

Suggested Query Reader Group for &lt;application name&gt;

</td><td>

Displays a mix of search query suggestions \(based on the user's previous searches\) and search result suggestions \(based on results the user selected for previous searches\). Default section header: none

 Included readers: Popular Query Reader, User History Reader, User Search Term Reader

</td></tr><tr><td>

Suggested Result Reader Group for &lt;application name&gt;

</td><td>

Displays search result suggestions based on results the user selected for previous searches. When you create a search application configuration, this suggestion reader group isn't linked to it by default.

 Default section header: `Suggested results`

 Included readers: Personal Click Reader

</td></tr><tr><td>

User History Reader Group for &lt;application name&gt;

</td><td>

Displays the user's current search query, plus search query and result suggestions from the user's previous search activity that match the current input. When you create a search application configuration, this suggestion reader group isn't linked to it by default.

 Default section header: `Recently viewed`

 Included readers: User History and Click Reader, User Search Term Reader

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>**Note:** A search application configuration can't link to multiple search suggestion types that include the same reader and have the same click-in mode. If you try to link a second suggestion type with the same reader and click-in mode to a search application configuration, the system displays an error message.

## Configure an auto-complete suggestion type in an AI Search application configuration

Modify default settings for display of auto-complete suggestions of a selected type in your search application's input field.

### Before you begin

Role required: search\_application\_admin

### About this task

When you define a new search application configuration, AI Search automatically populates it with auto-complete suggestion types. You can alter the default settings for these auto-complete suggestion types.

### Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** &gt; **AI Search** &gt; **Search Experience** &gt; **Search Applications**.

2.  Open the search application configuration that contains the auto-complete suggestion type that you want to modify.

3.  In the Autocomplete Suggestions related list, open the auto-complete suggestion type that you want to modify settings for.

4.  On the Suggestion Reader Group form, fill in the fields.

    For a description of the field values, see [Suggestion Reader Group form](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/sugg-reader-group-form-ais.md).

5.  Select **Update**.


### Result

The updated settings for the auto-complete suggestion type appear in the search application configuration's Autocomplete Suggestions related list.

## Remove an auto-complete suggestion type from an AI Search application configuration

Disable the display of auto-complete suggestions of a selected type in your search application's input field.

### Before you begin

Role required: search\_application\_admin

### About this task

When you define a search application configuration, AI Search automatically populates it with auto-complete suggestion types. You can remove unwanted auto-complete suggestion types from the search application configuration.

**Note:** Removing an auto-complete suggestion type from your search application configuration doesn't delete it. To relink the removed suggestion type to your search application configuration, see [Relink an auto-complete suggestion type to an AI Search application configuration](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/auto-complete-ais.md).

### Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** &gt; **AI Search** &gt; **Search Experience** &gt; **Search Applications**.

2.  Open the search application configuration that contains the auto-complete suggestion type you want to remove.

3.  In the Autocomplete Suggestions related list, open the auto-complete suggestion type that you want to remove.

4.  On the Suggestion Reader Group form, select **Remove from Search Application**.

    For a description of the field values, see [Suggestion Reader Group form](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/sugg-reader-group-form-ais.md).


### Result

The selected auto-complete suggestion type no longer appears in the search application configuration's Autocomplete Suggestions related list.

## Relink an auto-complete suggestion type to an AI Search application configuration

Re-enable the display of auto-complete suggestions of a selected type in your search application's input field.

### Before you begin

Role required: search\_application\_admin

### About this task

When you define a search application configuration, AI Search automatically populates it with auto-complete suggestion types. If you removed one of these auto-complete suggestion types from the search application configuration, you can relink it.

**Note:** A search application configuration can't link to multiple search suggestion types that include the same reader and have the same click-in mode. If you try to link a second suggestion type with the same reader and click-in mode to a search application configuration, the system displays an error message.

### Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** &gt; **AI Search** &gt; **Search Experience** &gt; **Search Applications**.

2.  Open the search application configuration that you want to relink the auto-complete suggestion type to.

3.  In the Autocomplete Suggestions related list, select **Add Existing**.

4.  In the Suggestion Reader Groups list, open the auto-complete suggestion type that you want to relink to your search application configuration.

5.  On the Suggestion Reader Group form, enter or look up the search application configuration by name in the **Search Application** field.

    For a description of the field values, see [Suggestion Reader Group form](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/sugg-reader-group-form-ais.md).

6.  Select **Update**.


### Result

The selected auto-complete suggestion type appears in the search application configuration's Autocomplete Suggestions related list.