A practical guide to the Shopify Search & Discovery app: set up filters, synonyms, product boosts, and recommendations so shoppers find products faster and convert more in 2026.
What is Shopify Search & Discovery?
Shopify Search & Discovery is Shopify's own free app for customizing how customers find products on your storefront — onsite search, filters, synonyms, product boosts, and product recommendations. It's built and supported by Shopify, works inside Shopify admin, and is available in 20 languages, so you can tune relevance without hiring a developer or paying for a third-party search engine (Shopify App Store).
The problem it solves is bigger than most merchants think. According to Baymard Institute's 2026 ecommerce Search UX benchmark, 56% of sites have "mediocre or worse" search experiences — meaning shoppers who know what they want still can't find it. That matters because search intent is high-intent: Algolia's roundup of e-commerce search statistics reports that shoppers who use onsite search can be 2–3x more likely to convert than those who only browse, and that search-driven sessions influence a disproportionate share of revenue (Algolia).
Key takeaways
- It's free and first-party. Built by Shopify, works in Shopify admin — no monthly search-app fee (App Store).
- Four levers: custom filters, search (synonyms + boosts + semantic understanding), product recommendations, and analytics.
- Filters need a compatible theme to display, and collections over 5,000 products won't show filters.
- Synonyms and boosts only affect your onsite search — not Google or other third-party engines.
- Recommendations blend Shopify's auto-generated picks with up to 10 manual complementary and 10 related products per page.
Why onsite search, filters, and recommendations drive conversion
Search and filtering are where high-intent shoppers self-select. When someone types a query or clicks a filter, they're telling you exactly what they want — your only job is to return it fast and accurately.
Search users buy more often. Because searchers are usually further along the buying journey, converting them well has an outsized effect on your overall Shopify conversion rate. Filters cut friction. A shopper who can narrow 500 products down to "size 8, waterproof, under $150" reaches a decision faster. Recommendations lift AOV. Relevant complementary products give shoppers a reason to add one more item before checkout. Getting these right across your Shopify catalog is one of the cheapest conversion wins available, since the app itself is free.
What you can customize with Shopify Search & Discovery
The app is organized into four areas. Here's what each one does and where you configure it in Shopify admin.
| Feature | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Filters | Let shoppers refine collection and search pages by standard attributes (Availability, Category, Price, Product type, Tags, Vendor) or custom filters from product options, metafields, and metaobjects — up to 25 filters. | Apps > Search & Discovery > Filters |
| Synonyms | Map different words with the same meaning (e.g. "slings" = "belt bags") so both return the same products. Up to 20 synonyms per group. | Search > Synonyms |
| Product boosts | Assign specific search terms to a product so it ranks higher for those queries. Up to 10 search terms per boost. | Search > Product boosts |
| Recommendations | Show related (similar) and complementary (bought-together) products on product pages — auto-generated, plus up to 10 manual picks each. | Product recommendations |
| Analytics | See what customers search for, top searches with no results, and how discovery performs so you can fix gaps. | Search & Discovery > Analytics |
Source: Shopify Help Center — Shopify Search & Discovery.
How to set up filters in Shopify Search & Discovery
Filters only display if your theme supports them, so start there. Any compatible theme (or a custom storefront using the filter Liquid or Storefront API) can show them. Then follow these steps (Shopify Help Center):
- From Shopify admin, go to Apps > Search & Discovery.
- Click Filters, then Add filter.
- Click the Source field and choose a filter source (a standard attribute like Price, or a custom option/metafield).
- Optionally rename the filter's customer-facing label, and set its behavior (whether selecting two values within one filter is an "or" or an "and" condition).
- Group similar values under one name — for example, combine Onyx, Ebony, and Midnight under Black.
- Sort values automatically (ascending), manually by drag-and-drop, or use the Reorder for me button powered by Shopify Magic.
- Click Save, then drag filters into the order you want them displayed.
Watch the limits. Collections with more than 5,000 products won't display filters, searches returning over 100,000 results won't either, and a single filter shows a maximum of 100 values on your storefront. Split oversized collections into smaller ones (e.g. Tops, Jeans, Boots instead of one "Women" collection) so filters can appear. For a deeper walkthrough of filter strategy and swatches, see our dedicated guide to Shopify filters, and make sure your Shopify collection page layout gives those filters room to breathe.
How to set up synonyms and product boosts
Even with strong filters, shoppers use words you don't. Your no-results search report is the best place to find them.
Create a synonym group
Synonyms make different words return the same products. To set one up, go to Search > Synonyms > Create synonym group, enter each word or phrase, add a group title, and save. Each synonym can be one to five words, with up to 20 synonyms per group and 1,000 per store. Skip common misspellings — Shopify's built-in typo tolerance already handles those.
Create a product boost
Boosts push a chosen product higher for specific queries. Go to Search > Product boosts > Create product boost, select the product, and add up to 10 search terms. Boost a small number of products per term — boosting too many buries other relevant results. Note that boosts and synonyms only affect your onsite search, not how products rank on Google or other engines. Separately, on Shopify's Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans (stores under 200,000 products), semantic understanding uses AI to connect related concepts automatically — a search for "christmas party shoes" can surface red pumps even without those exact words in the listing.
How to add product recommendations
Shopify auto-generates related product recommendations for every product using purchase history, product descriptions, and related collections. You can layer manual picks on top (Shopify Help Center):
- Go to Apps > Search & Discovery > Product recommendations, then Add recommendations.
- Select the product you want to customize.
- Add up to 10 complementary products (items bought alongside it — ideally equal or lower cost).
- Add up to 10 related products (similar substitutes).
- Choose whether to show only your manual picks or blend them with Shopify's auto-generated ones, then Save.
Shopify recommends keeping the automatic recommendations on alongside your manual ones, so a slot never goes empty when a hand-picked product sells out. Your theme must include a complementary-products block and a recommendations section for these to display.
Where PageFly fits: Search & Discovery controls the logic of search, filters, and recommendations — but they live on collection, product, and landing pages that need to be fast and conversion-focused. Build those pages with PageFly's visual editor so your filters, complementary-product blocks, and CTAs sit exactly where shoppers expect them.
Best practices for Shopify Search & Discovery
As Shopify puts it on the app's official listing, "A great shopping experience starts with simple search and seamless discovery." Turn that into a routine:
- Mine the no-results report weekly. Every zero-result query is a lost sale you can fix with a synonym or a re-tagged product.
- Group and sort filter values. Consolidate near-duplicate colors and order sizes logically so filters feel curated, not chaotic.
- Boost sparingly. Reserve boosts for launches or priority products; over-boosting hurts relevance.
- Keep product data clean. Semantic search and recommendations rely on descriptions and images — strong product page SEO feeds better results.
- Pair it with the right stack. If you outgrow the free app, compare options in our list of the best Shopify apps for your online store.
Because the app is free, it's an easy first install on a new store — even one you're testing on a Shopify $1 plan. For inspiration on how polished discovery looks in practice, study a few best Shopify store examples, and when you're ready to send paid traffic to a curated set of products, put them behind a purpose-built landing page. Search & Discovery handles relevance; your pages handle the experience — together they turn "just looking" into "added to cart."
Shopify Search And Discovery FAQ
Yes. Shopify Search & Discovery is built and supported by Shopify and is listed as free on the Shopify App Store, with no monthly fee. It works inside Shopify admin and is available in 20 languages.
Filters only display on a compatible theme (or a custom storefront using the filter Liquid API or Storefront API). You can still create filters in the app on an unsupported theme, but customers won't see them.
Synonyms make different words with the same meaning return the same products (e.g. slings = belt bags). Product boosts assign specific search terms to a product so it ranks higher for those queries. Both affect only your onsite search, not Google.
Filters are hidden if a collection has more than 5,000 products or a search returns more than 100,000 results. Each filter also displays a maximum of 100 values. Split large collections into smaller ones, and allow 24–48 hours for re-indexing.
Yes. In the Product recommendations section you can manually add up to 10 complementary and up to 10 related products per product, and choose to show only your picks or blend them with Shopify's auto-generated recommendations.
Yes, through semantic understanding, which connects related words and concepts (a search for christmas party shoes can surface red pumps). It's available on the Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans for stores under 200,000 products.
