What is Smart Search?
Smart Search is an AI-powered semantic search feature that helps you find information across your entire space using natural language. It goes beyond traditional keyword matching by understanding context, relationships, and intent. Key differences from regular search:- Semantic understanding – finds content based on meaning, not just exact words
- Natural language queries – ask questions the way you naturally think
- Cross-document connections – understands relationships between different documents
- Contextual relevance – ranks results based on conceptual similarity, not just keyword frequency
Smart Search was introduced in Craft v3.3.2 and requires an active AI credit balance to use.
How to use Smart Search
Smart Search works through the Craft Assistant interface:The Assistant will search across your space using AI to understand your intent and find relevant content.
Example queries
Smart Search excels at understanding the intent behind your search, not just matching keywords.Concept-based searches
Instead of searching for exact terms, you can search by concept:- “Find documents about quarterly planning” – finds content related to planning, goals, and Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4, even if “quarterly planning” isn’t explicitly mentioned
- “Show me everything related to the marketing campaign” – understands synonyms like “promotion,” “outreach,” “launch”
- “What did I write about hiring last year?” – combines temporal and topical understanding
Task and project queries
Ask about work status and next steps:- “What tasks are still open for Project Y?”
- “Show me all the decisions we made about the new feature”
- “Find notes from meetings with the design team”
Exploratory searches
Discover connections you might have forgotten:- “What have I written about remote work?”
- “Find all references to budget discussions”
- “Show me content related to onboarding new team members”
How Smart Search works differently
Traditional keyword search
Query: “project planning” Finds: Documents containing the exact words “project” AND “planning” Misses: Content about “roadmaps,” “strategy sessions,” “quarterly goals” (related concepts with different words)Smart Search
Query: “Find documents about project planning” Finds:- Documents with “project planning”
- Documents about “roadmaps” and “milestones”
- Meeting notes about “Q4 strategy”
- Task lists with “planning phase” items
Credit usage and models
Smart Search consumes AI credits because it uses advanced language models to understand your query and analyze your content. Model used: Smart Search typically uses the Fast model (Claude Haiku 4.5) for space-level semantic queries, balancing speed and understanding. Credit consumption:- Varies based on query complexity and space size
- Simple queries: ~0.5-2 credits
- Complex cross-document searches: ~2-5 credits
For simple keyword searches where you know the exact term, use regular search (
Cmd+F / Ctrl+F) instead of Smart Search to avoid consuming credits.When to use Smart Search vs. regular search
Use Smart Search when:- You’re not sure of the exact words used in your documents
- You want to find conceptually related content
- You’re exploring a topic across multiple documents
- You need to understand connections between different pieces of content
- You know the exact keyword or phrase
- You’re looking for a specific document title
- You want fast results without using AI credits
- You’re searching for specific data like dates, names, or IDs
Platform availability
- macOS
- iOS
- Windows
- Web
Smart Search is fully available at the space level through Craft Assistant. Works across all document types, collections, tasks, and calendar views.
Privacy and data
Smart Search follows the same privacy principles as all Craft Assistant features:- Your search queries are not stored on Craft servers
- Content is sent to the AI model provider only for the duration of processing a single request
- Your data is never used to train AI models
- Only token usage and cost are recorded for credit accounting
Current limitations
Smart Search is designed for semantic understanding, but there are some things to keep in mind:- Space-level only – Smart Search works at the space level, not within a single document (use document search or Find for that)
- Requires credits – Unlike regular search, Smart Search consumes AI credits
- Platform availability – Currently available on Mac and iOS; coming soon to Windows and Web
- Processing time – May take longer than traditional keyword search, especially for complex queries
Tips for better results
Be specific about what you need
Instead of vague queries, provide context:- ❌ “Find stuff about the project”
- ✅ “Find all meeting notes and decisions related to the website redesign project”
Use time references when relevant
The AI can understand temporal context:- “What did I write about budgets last quarter?”
- “Show me recent notes about the new feature”
- “Find documents from around June about the conference”
Combine multiple concepts
Smart Search can handle complex, multi-faceted queries:- “Find tasks and notes related to hiring designers for the mobile team”
- “Show me documents that discuss both marketing strategy and budget constraints”
Refine your query
If the first results aren’t quite right, try rephrasing:- Add more context: “…specifically about international markets”
- Be more specific: “meeting notes from Q1” → “weekly standup notes from January and February”
- Use different terminology: “client feedback” → “customer complaints and feature requests”