Feature Overview
Introduced in August 2026, Global Search is a cross-entity search available from the header. Selecting All categories and submitting a query takes the visitor to a single results page that searches across every enabled content type at once, rather than one category at a time.
Global Search runs on ExpoPlatform's AI/semantic search backend, not a keyword or alphabetical sort. Every match gets a relevance score for the query, and results are shown highest-score first.
End-User Experience
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The header search field offers an All categories option alongside the usual per-category options (Exhibitors, Products, Sessions, etc.), shown first and selected by default.
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This option only appears when the event has Global Search enabled, and — if the event also requires sign-in for it — only for signed-in visitors. Anonymous visitors on a sign-in-required event won't see the option and are prompted to sign in if they land on the results page directly.
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If only one category is available for an event, there's no "All categories" option at all — the visitor just gets that one category's normal search.
Which categories are available at all, and in what order, is configured by the event admin — see Global Search — Admin Setup & Configuration.
Search Elements
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Search field — permanently visible at the top, keeps the current query, not closable. Clicking the header search icon while already on this page just refocuses this field rather than opening a separate panel.
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Top Results strip — a row of the single best matches across all categories combined (mixed types — an exhibitor next to a session next to a news article — ranked by relevance). This is separate from the category sections below it and isn't counted in the page's total result count.
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Quick links and category sections — Quick links are shortcuts and are described in more detail in this help article
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Content types appear as sections: Exhibitors, Products, Brands, Pavilions, News, Events, Delegates, Speakers, Buyers, Sessions, Round Tables, On-demand content. Which ones appear depends on what's enabled for the event and what has results.
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Sponsored rails — Exhibitors and Products sections can carry a "Sponsored Exhibitors" / "Sponsored Products" rail alongside the organic results. This rail is independent of the search query — it shows the event's sponsors regardless of what was searched. They reuse the event's general sponsor priority setting (the same drag-and-drop order covered in How does the Set Priority in the Sponsor search list function?), not the search query.
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Autocomplete suggestions — available in every search scope, not just All categories. As a visitor types (from the 2nd character), a dropdown shows previously-searched queries from across the event's visitors. Picking one runs it in whichever category is currently selected.
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Saved searches — also available in every search scope, not just All categories. Signed-in, authorized visitors get a "Saved searches" option beside the search field. They can save the current query and re-run saved ones later; saving shows a confirmation toast. Up to 20 are kept per visitor per event — saving a 21st drops the oldest.
Empty and error states
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An empty query is valid — it shows recommended content rather than an error.
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If nothing matches anywhere (no category results and no Top Results), the page shows a "No results for [query] found" state, and the Quick links row is hidden along with it.
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If the search itself fails (not just zero results), the page shows a generic error state with a retry option.