Using Smart Search

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This content applies solely to Contract Writing, which must be purchased separately from the Appian base platform. This content was written for Appian 26.9 and may not reflect the interfaces or functionality of other Appian versions.

Smart search in Contract Writing

Contract Writing (CW) includes smart search capabilities that use natural language queries to find relevant records and documents based on meaning and intent rather than exact keyword matches. Smart search evaluates text-heavy fields and returns results ranked by relevance, helping you find information more efficiently.

Contract Writing provides smart search in two contexts:

Record grid search: Search directly on solicitation, award, and agreement grids from the Procurements page or My Workspace.
Smart Search tab: A dedicated search interface accessible from the CW main navigation that supports searching across documents, record data, or both.

Search record grids in Contract Writing

Smart search is available on the following record grids in Contract Writing:

Solicitations/amendments: Evaluates title, description, and Product Service Code (PSC)/North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) descriptions or referenced Indefinite Delivery Vehicle (IDV) title.
Awards/modifications: Evaluates title, description, and PSC/NAICS descriptions or referenced IDV title.
Agreements: Evaluates title, description, and PSC/NAICS descriptions.

To search a record grid:

Navigate to the record grid for solicitations, awards, or agreements.
Enter a natural language query in the search field. For example, search for "cybersecurity consulting services" instead of an exact title.
Review the results returned by the search.

Contract Writing displays two indicators for each result:

Similarity score: A score indicating how closely the record matches your query. Results are sorted in descending order, with the highest similarity first.
Matched field indicators: Labels showing which fields on the record contained the text that matched your query, such as title, description, or PSC/NAICS descriptions.

Note: Records with statuses such as Closed, Archived, or Completed are not evaluated as part of smart search results. Smart search supports up to 325,000 rows per record type.

Search contract line items in Contract Writing

Smart search is available on contract line items (CLINs) and sub-CLINs in Contract Writing. The search evaluates the following fields:

Title: The line item title.
Description: The line item description.
PSC/NAICS descriptions: Classification code descriptions associated with the line item.

When searching at the CLIN level, Contract Writing also evaluates associated sub-CLIN fields. Results indicate if sub-CLIN fields matched the search query.

Search contract text in Contract Writing

Smart search evaluates the entirety of contract text across all sections for solicitations and awards in Contract Writing. Results indicate which section contained the text that matched the query.

To search contract text:

Navigate to the solicitation or award summary.
Select the Contract Text tab.
Enter a natural language query in the search field.
Review results, noting which section matched the query.

Search tasks in Contract Writing

Smart search is available on tasks associated with your procurements in Contract Writing. The search evaluates the following fields:

Name: The task name.
Description: The task description.
Attached document file name: The name of any file attached to the task.

Use the Smart Search tab in Contract Writing

The Smart Search tab is a dedicated search interface accessible from the Contract Writing main navigation. The Smart Search tab provides three search modes for querying across documents, record data, or both.

Search documents from the Smart Search tab in Contract Writing

Contract Writing evaluates the full text of all documents across all records when you search in Documents mode. Results are sorted by relevance score and display the document name and a snippet of matching content.

To search documents:

Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main navigation.
Select Documents from the search mode options.
Enter a natural language query in the search field.
Review the results. Each result displays the document name, a relevance score, and a snippet of matching content.
Click a document name to open the document directly from the results list.

Note: Smart search respects existing document permissions and visibility. You can only search and view documents that you have access to.

Search record data from the Smart Search tab in Contract Writing

Record Data mode searches only procurement record data in Contract Writing. You can filter results by record type, including solicitations, awards, agreements, and Other Transaction Agreements (OTs).

To search record data:

Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main navigation.
Select Record Data from the search mode options.
Enter a natural language query in the search field.
(Optional) If you want to narrow results, filter by record type.
Review the results. Record Data mode retains the same smart search behavior available on record grids (similarity scores and matched field indicators).

Search documents and record data from the Smart Search tab in Contract Writing

Documents & Record Data mode searches both document content and procurement record data in a single query. Results clearly indicate whether the match came from a document or a record field.

To search documents and record data:

Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main navigation.
Select Documents & Record Data from the search mode options.
Enter a natural language query in the search field.
Review the results. Each result indicates whether the match is from a document or a record.

Chat with multiple documents using AI in Contract Writing

Contract Writing extends smart search with AI Chat capabilities on the Smart Search tab. When the AI Document Builder toggle is active, the Documents search mode includes an Ask AI option that evaluates all documents returned from a search to answer your question.

To chat with multiple documents:

Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main navigation.
Select Documents from the search mode options.
Enter a natural language query to search for relevant documents.
Review the document results returned by the search.
Click Ask AI to start a conversation across the returned documents.
Enter a question in the AI Chat interface.
Review the AI response. Each response cites the specific document or documents that the answer was drawn from.

Note: AI Chat with multiple documents is only available in the Documents search mode. The Ask AI option does not appear in the Record Data or Documents & Record Data modes. AI Chat respects existing document permissions — you can only chat with documents you have access to view.

Prerequisites for AI Chat with multiple documents in Contract Writing

Contract Writing AI Chat with multiple documents requires the following:

AI Document Builder toggle: The AI Document Builder toggle must be active in the CW Settings Site.
Documents search mode: AI Chat is only available when the Documents search mode is selected.

View recent search history in Contract Writing

Contract Writing displays your recent search queries on the Smart Search tab to help you quickly re-run previous searches.

To view recent searches:

Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main navigation.
Review the list of recent search queries displayed on the page.
Click a previous query to re-run the search.

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