AI Features
Opensolr Search includes two AI-powered features that use your own content to generate intelligent answers. Both stream responses in real time, token by token, for an interactive experience.
AI Hints and AI Reader are available on vector-enabled plans tailored to your needs and budget. Lexical keyword search works out of the box on every Opensolr plan. Contact us at support@opensolr.com to get started with AI-powered search.
AI Hints
When enabled, a purple "AI Hints" button appears above search results. When a visitor clicks it:
- The plugin collects the search query and snippets from the top results as context
- This context is sent to the Opensolr AI service at
api.opensolr.comvia theai_summaryendpoint - An AI-generated answer streams in real time into a panel above the results, rendered as Markdown via marked.js
The answer is generated only from your own content — it does not make things up or use external knowledge. Think of it as a smart summary that reads your top results and gives the visitor a quick answer.
The answer appears in a purple-bordered panel with text streaming in word by word. It supports full Markdown formatting — headings, lists, bold, code blocks, and links all render beautifully.
Enabling AI Hints
- Go to Settings → Opensolr Search → Search Display tab
- Toggle the "AI Hints" checkbox under Search Features
- Click Save
The button only appears when there is a search query and at least one result. It does not show on empty pages or zero-result searches.
AI Reader
AI Reader lets visitors get a quick AI summary of any individual search result. A "Read" button appears on each result card in the meta line. Clicking it:
- Opens a full-screen modal overlay
- Fetches the document metadata from the search index
- Streams an AI-generated summary of that specific page in real time
This is especially useful for long documents, PDFs, and technical content where visitors want a quick overview before clicking through to the full page.
Enabling AI Reader
- Go to Settings → Opensolr Search → Search Display tab
- Toggle the "AI Reader" checkbox under Search Features
- Click Save
AI Hints and AI Reader can be toggled on or off independently — you can enable one without the other.
How streaming works
Both features use cURL WRITEFUNCTION for real-time token-by-token streaming. The plugin sends a request to the Opensolr AI service and the response is streamed back to the browser as it is generated. This means visitors see the answer building up progressively rather than waiting for the entire response to complete.
Requirements
- Your index must be vector-enabled (name ends in
__dense) — this is the default when the plugin creates your index - AI features require a vector-enabled plan — contact us to set up a plan tailored to your needs and budget
- Lexical keyword search works on every Opensolr plan — AI features add intelligent, context-aware answers on top
Error handling
If the AI service is temporarily unavailable or an error occurs during streaming, the plugin displays a friendly error message with a link to support@opensolr.com. AI features degrade gracefully — search results always work even if AI is unavailable.
Privacy & caching
AI answers are generated using only your indexed content. No visitor data, search queries, or personal information is stored or used for AI training. The AI service runs on Opensolr's infrastructure.
AI responses are cached after the first generation. If another visitor asks the same question, they get the cached answer instantly without additional AI processing.