Description
Give your visitors instant, typo-tolerant search, combined with AI answers that are based on your content only. SearchCue takes five minutes to install, and since you don’t have to hold the local index in your database, it keeps your backend clean.
Live demo | Pricing | Docs | Privacy policy
What you get
Search that works:
- Real-time, typo-tolerant results that appear as visitors type
- Search across pages, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and other supported documents
- OCR and image understanding that can make image content discoverable when useful text is missing
Answers, not just links:
- Optional cited AI answers generated from your indexed site content, with links to the sources used
- Semantic matching that can find relevant pages even when a query uses different wording
You stay in control:
- Search lenses for including or excluding URL paths and serving the right content for different site sections or language paths
- Built-in search analytics showing popular terms, clicks, and searches that returned no results
- A hosted design editor for adapting the search interface without changing the plugin
- Optional automatic content-update notifications when public pages, posts, custom post types, or attachments change
Works beyond WordPress
The same SearchCue account can also provide search for Webflow, Shopify, Squarespace, and hand-built sites.
Pricing
The plugin is free and GPL-licensed. The hosted service starts with a 15-day free trial, no credit card required. After that, plans start at €9 per month and include an AI answer allowance. You can set a hard monthly AI budget; once it is reached, SearchCue can fall back to keyword results at no extra cost. Paying for AI answers beyond the allowance is always optional. See the current SearchCue pricing and plan limits.
External services
SearchCue is a hosted site search and optional cited AI answer service. The plugin makes these external requests:
- Setup and admin analytics: When an administrator submits the connection form, the plugin sends the email address, site URL, WordPress admin return URL, and a random setup state to
https://central.searchcue.com. It later exchanges a one-time handoff token there and uses the assigned API key to retrieve site search analytics. - Automatic content updates: While Automatic updates is enabled, the plugin sends the site hostname, an IndexNow verification key, and changed public URLs to
https://central.searchcue.comso SearchCue can refresh the index. Administrators can disable this in SearchCue settings. - Visitor search: After the site is connected, public pages load executable code from
https://searchcue.com/search-embed.js. That embed contactshttps://central.searchcue.comandhttps://edge.searchcue.comto load settings, perform searches, and record visitor search terms, originating page paths, whether searches returned results, clicked result paths, and search performance and outcome metrics. If cited answers are enabled, visitor questions and relevant indexed excerpts are sent to SearchCue for cited answer generation.
Admin interface fonts are bundled with the plugin under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and do not make external requests. The font license texts are included with the font files.
Like other web requests, these connections disclose network information such as the requester IP address and browser user agent. SearchCue uses the data to provide, secure, maintain, troubleshoot, and improve the service and to show search analytics to the site administrator. Site administrators are responsible for providing any visitor privacy notices and obtaining any consent required for their site.
Use of the service is governed by the SearchCue Terms and Conditions. Data handling is described in the SearchCue Privacy Policy.
Hosted service disclosure
SearchCue is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product operated by DoNoHarm GmbH. This plugin connects your site to SearchCue, which crawls or receives public content, hosts the search index, and serves visitor searches and optional AI answers. A SearchCue account is required. The plugin does not provide search locally without the hosted service.
By connecting a site, an administrator agrees to the SearchCue terms and acknowledges the privacy policy:
- Service: https://searchcue.com/
- Terms and Conditions: https://searchcue.com/terms/
- Privacy Policy: https://donoharm.world/privacy-policy/searchcue/
Screenshots
Installation
- Install and activate SearchCue through the WordPress Plugins screen.
- Open SearchCue in WordPress admin and enter your email address.
- Follow the magic link to sign up or sign in and connect the site.
- SearchCue crawls the site and enables its floating search launcher. It can also use your existing search input or any link to
/search.
FAQ
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What are cited AI answers?
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SearchCue can answer a visitor’s question using indexed content from your site and link to the sources used. AI answers can be incomplete or inaccurate, so visitors should use the cited sources to verify important information.
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What does it cost?
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The plugin is free. The hosted service has a 15-day free trial with no credit card. Paid plans currently start at €9 per month. Current prices and limits are listed on the SearchCue pricing page.
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Does it slow down my site or database?
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The browser embed loads asynchronously, and SearchCue does not build or query a local search index. The plugin stores its settings in WordPress and, when Automatic updates is enabled, sends notifications after public content changes.
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SearchCue is designed to answer from the content indexed for your site. If the indexed sources do not support an answer, it should say that it could not find one rather than inventing an answer.
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Does it search images?
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SearchCue can use OCR to read text inside images and image understanding to describe what they show. This can make image content discoverable even when captions or alt text are missing.
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Do I need to change my theme or add code?
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No. SearchCue includes a floating search launcher and can take over a standard search input or any link to
/search. As with other frontend plugins, the theme must call the standard WordPresswp_head()function. -
Does it search PDFs and office documents?
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Yes. Supported PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and spreadsheets can be indexed alongside your pages, so manuals, specifications, and price lists can appear in results.
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Not currently. SearchCue does not yet support product data, so faceted product filters and refinement menus are not available.
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Can I limit search to one section or language?
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Yes. Search lenses can include or exclude URL paths and select different content for sections or language paths on your site.
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Can I disable automatic content updates?
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Yes. Disable Automatic updates in the SearchCue settings page to stop the plugin from sending changed public URLs.
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Does SearchCue work without an account?
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No. The plugin is an interface to the hosted SearchCue service. An account and an active trial or paid subscription are required for hosted search.
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Is this compatible with my WordPress version?
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The clean-install matrix covers WordPress 6.0 through 7.1 and PHP 7.4 through 8.5. It tests the PHP 7.4 floor on WordPress 6.0, every PHP 8 minor, and the available PHP 8.2 and 8.5 boundaries on WordPress 7.1 with debugging enabled.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“SearchCue: AI Site Search & Answers” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “SearchCue: AI Site Search & Answers” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
0.1.1
- Declare compatibility with WordPress 7.1.
0.1.0
- Initial WordPress.org release.