WP Engine has announced the availability of Smart Search AI, its turnkey AI-powered search solution for WordPress, enabling organizations to deliver faster, more intelligent search experiences and results without the need to be a WP Engine managed hosting customer. With semantic search, Smart Search AI better understands user intent, especially with long phrases or queries with typos.
WP Engine opens Smart Search AI to any WordPress site.
AI-powered semantic search understands user intent and context.
Runs on dedicated external infrastructure without site performance impact.
Out-of-the-box compatibility with Advanced Custom Fields and WooCommerce.
Includes Smart Search AI MCP Server in open beta for external AI agents.
WP Engine serves more than 5 million sites globally.
As AI reshapes how people search for and discover content, expectations for how quickly people can find and act on information have evolved significantly. Traditional keyword-based search on websites often struggles to understand user intent, making it difficult for visitors to find relevant information quickly. Smart Search AI addresses this challenge through AI-powered semantic search that surfaces relevant results based on meaning and context rather than exact keyword or phrase matches. When website visitors use an on-site search bar, they are interacting with the brand directly, demonstrating two to three times higher intent than their passive browsing counterparts.
Smart Search AI gives marketing, content, and development teams an enterprise-grade search experience configurable through an easy-to-use interface. Its AI-powered search recommendations learn from user behavior to provide more relevant results and help improve conversions. Running on dedicated external infrastructure means that Smart Search AI does not burden sites with performance drag, even as it automatically indexes new and updated content in real time. Built specifically for WordPress websites, Smart Search AI offers out-of-the-box compatibility with Advanced Custom Fields and WooCommerce, as well as flexible integration with headless WordPress environments via WPGraphQL and REST APIs. The plugin also includes access to the Smart Search AI MCP Server, now in open beta, enabling organizations to securely expose their live site content to external AI agents in real time.
"Search is one of the most overlooked parts of the digital experience, yet it has a big impact on how people engage with content on a site," said Ramadass Prabhakar, chief technology officer at WP Engine. "With Smart Search AI, we're making one of our most powerful tools accessible to the whole WordPress community, helping to drive higher engagement, lower time-to-conversion, and create better customer experiences."
"During our most recent redesign, we interviewed our top customers, and a main concern was that they couldn't easily find what they were looking for on our website," said Melanie Clarke, website manager, Mitie. "They would often exit when their searches didn't yield results. Smart Search AI has greatly improved customer-led user journeys across our site, so our content can create more engagement, not more frustration."
About WP Engine
WP Engine empowers companies and agencies of all sizes to build, power, manage, and optimize their WordPress websites and applications with confidence. The global technology company serves and powers more than 5 million sites, providing premium, enterprise-grade solutions, tools, and services, including specialized hosting platforms for websites built on WordPress, industry-tailored agency solutions, and developer-centric tools like Advanced Custom Fields, NitroPack, Local, and more. Innovative technology and industry-leading expertise are why Pandora, Experian, Equifax, VMware, HubSpot, and Dell choose WP Engine.
