Rules

Rules are if-then tools that have both conditions and actions. They let us modify the search results based on a “trigger.” 

Note: Rules are a Profile-level feature.

A Search Profile applies Data Filters first, then Ranking, Rules, Smart Ranking, and finally Promotions.

On the Rules list, each rule shows a status label so you can see whether it is enabled or disabled. A blue dot next to the status label indicates unpublished draft changes. The dot appears after you save changes as a draft and disappears after you publish.

When you save a draft, Site Search shows a blue dot in the navigation menu to indicate pending changes for the current app, language, and search profile. The configuration page also shows a banner. Status banners show pending draft, saved draft, and published states.

Rules page with Create a Rule button and table listing one enabled rule, trigger Overview, last updated Jan 8, 2026.

In this case, the trigger is a word, “overview,” found in the query. You can specify whether the query merely contains the trigger, or whether the query must exactly match the trigger phrase.  

Rule configuration interface showing a trigger for

Actions

There are four kinds of actions. We can use them in any combination:

  • The rule can apply a dynamic boost to a specific field.
  • The rule can apply dynamic filtering to the results list. 
  • The rule can remove the trigger phrase from the query and substitute a different phrase.
  • The rule can calculate a partial relevance score based on the value of a field.

Search rules configuration showing term replacement, field filtering, field boosting, and date-based ranking modifiers for antivirus and security-relate...

Articles in this section