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Overview

Semantic redirects use AI to understand the intent and meaning behind search queries, automatically directing customers to relevant pages instead of showing search results. Unlike keyword-based redirects, semantic matching understands variations and related terms, providing a more flexible and intelligent redirect experience.

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Before you start

  • Semantic redirects is currently in beta. Contact support to enable this feature for your account.
  • Redirects only work for text search queries. They don’t apply to image search, similar product search, or browse requests.
  • When a redirect is triggered, customers see no search results—they’re immediately directed to the target URL.
  • Your frontend integration must handle the _meta.redirect response from the Search API.

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Prerequisites

Ensure your frontend implementation checks for the _meta.redirect field in search responses and navigates to the provided URL. See the Search API documentation for technical details.

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Steps

  1. Go to Settings → Semantic Redirects in the Layers dashboard.
  2. Click Create Redirect.
  3. Enter the search terms that should trigger the redirect:
    • Add the primary term or phrase customers might search for
    • The semantic matching will automatically understand related variations
  4. Enter the target URL:
    • Provide the full URL where customers should be redirected
    • Use absolute URLs (e.g., https://yourstore.com/pages/contact-us)
  5. Save and enable the redirect.

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Common use cases

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Customer support queries

Redirect searches for help-related terms to your support page: Search term: “customer service” Redirect URL: https://yourstore.com/pages/contact-us The semantic matching will also catch variations like “help”, “support”, “contact us”, “need help”, etc.

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Brand landing pages

Direct brand-specific searches to dedicated brand pages: Search term: “nike” Redirect URL: https://yourstore.com/collections/nike The semantic matching will also catch variations like “nike shoes”, “nike products”, “nike brand”, etc.

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Policy and information pages

Route policy-related queries to relevant information: Search term: “return policy” Redirect URL: https://yourstore.com/policies/refund-policy The semantic matching will also catch variations like “returns”, “refund”, “how to return”, etc.

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Promotional campaigns

Send sale-related searches to campaign landing pages: Search term: “sale” Redirect URL: https://yourstore.com/collections/sale The semantic matching will also catch variations like “clearance”, “discount”, “deals”, “what’s on sale”, etc.

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How semantic matching works

Semantic redirects use AI to understand query intent, not just exact keyword matches. This means:
  • “need help” matches a redirect configured for “customer service”
  • “how do I return something” matches a redirect configured for “return policy”
  • “where can I get support” matches a redirect configured for “help”
The system evaluates the semantic similarity between the search query and your configured redirect terms, triggering the redirect when a strong match is found. You don’t need to configure every possible variation—the AI understands related concepts and intent.

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Testing redirects

Use the Test Text Search tool to verify your semantic redirects:
  1. Enter a search query that should trigger your redirect.
  2. Check the response for the _meta.redirect field.
  3. Verify the redirect URL is correct.
  4. Test variations of your target terms to ensure semantic matching works as expected.

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Best practices

  • Use general terms - Configure redirects with broad, general terms rather than specific variations. The semantic matching will handle related queries automatically.
  • Test thoroughly - Verify redirects work for expected queries and don’t trigger unexpectedly for product searches.
  • Monitor search analytics - Review which queries trigger redirects to identify gaps or opportunities for additional redirects.
  • Use absolute URLs - Always provide full URLs including the protocol (https://) to ensure redirects work correctly.
  • Avoid over-redirecting - Don’t redirect queries that should show product results. Reserve redirects for informational queries, support requests, and specific landing pages.

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Troubleshooting

Redirect not triggering:
  • Verify that Semantic Redirects is enabled for your account (contact support if needed)
  • Check that the redirect is enabled in Settings → Semantic Redirects
  • Test the query in the Test Text Search tool to see the API response
Wrong redirect URL:
  • Verify the URL is correct and uses the full absolute path
  • Check if another redirect with similar terms might be matching first
Redirect triggering for product searches:
  • Refine your search terms to be more specific to informational queries
  • Test with various queries to identify false positives
  • Consider using more specific terms that clearly indicate non-product intent

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See also