![\"Woolworths'](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773214816_784_ImageResizer.ashx.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nWoolworths is introducing semantic search capabilities into its online shopping portal to catch a trend that is seeing consumers increasingly use ecommerce sites as problem-solving tools.<\/p>\n
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Semantic search is a subset of AI technology that uses advanced mathematical techniques and natural language processing to reveal the intent behind online queries to generate results, rather than relying on traditional keyword matches.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Elastic\u2019s Elasticon Tour in Sydney, Woolworths experience product lead Meredith Murphy said that use of the portal had progressed with customers now expecting it to provide more than dry merchandise and pricing information.<\/p>\n
Instead, she said, customers were seeking answers based on more sophisticated enquiries that which require a deeper understanding of their individual missions.<\/p>\n
That could, for instance, be information about cooking or opening hours in particular areas, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think when you’re thinking about scaling support and using AI, it’s how you take a customer search term, unravel that and identify what the intent is of that search and deliver on it. We’re proactively solving a what a customer wants before it becomes a problem,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n
However, she said that the supermarket giant still remained cautious about letting AI make the search results overly complicated for customers, especially in cases when their queries could be handled in simpler ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the search query is really straightforward, and I think often it gets forgotten when we’re talking about natural language, that not everything needs to be inherently complex. It’s about having a really qualitative set of results which are relevant and are ideally personalised to the customer experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve given them the right tools to refine that result so that they’re relevant to their shopping history, etcetera. What we’re doing is bringing in semantic capabilities and also starting to add features through the [user experience] such as auto applying filters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we know you’re seeking specials, we can apply that filter proactively for you. It’s that fusion between what we can do with technology unpacking a complex query and then still giving the customer that element of control,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n