how to add semantic search to my app?

To add semantic search to your app, you can leverage the Core Spotlight framework, which now supports query understanding with SemanticSearch. Here are the steps to get started:

1. Donate Searchable Content:

   • First, you need to donate searchable content to Spotlight. This involves creating CSSearchableItem objects for the content you want to be searchable. Each item should have a unique identifier and an attribute set that describes the content.
   • Example: In a journaling app, each journal entry can be a searchable item.

   let attributeSet = CSSearchableItemAttributeSet(itemContentType: kUTTypeText as String)
   attributeSet.title = "Journal Entry Title"
   attributeSet.contentDescription = "Journal Entry Content"
   
   let item = CSSearchableItem(uniqueIdentifier: "uniqueID", domainIdentifier: "journalEntries", attributeSet: attributeSet)
   CSSearchableIndex.default().indexSearchableItems([item]) { error in
       if let error = error {
           print("Indexing error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
       } else {
           print("Search item successfully indexed!")
       }
   }
   

2. Configure Queries:

   • Semantic search is enabled by default, but you can configure your queries to return ranked results using the same machine learning models that Spotlight uses. You can also configure a suggestions menu in your app.
   • Use CSUserQueryContext to configure the query according to your UI needs.

   let query = CSSearchQuery(queryString: "search terms", attributes: ["title", "contentDescription"])
   query.foundItemsHandler = { items in
       // Handle found items
   }
   query.completionHandler = { error in
       if let error = error {
           print("Search error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
       } else {
           print("Search completed successfully!")
       }
   }
   query.start()
   

3. Boost Ranking of Search Results:

   • You can boost the ranking of search results that are most relevant to the user by using the compareByRank comparator and setting priorities for indexed entities.

   let sortedItems = items.sorted { $0.rank > $1.rank }
   

4. Integrate with App Intents:

   • If your application is already indexing content in Spotlight via the CSSearchableItem API, you can use the new associateAppEntity method to associate an app entity with your searchable item before you index it. This allows the new semantic search to find information about your app entity.

   let entity = MyAppEntity(identifier: "uniqueID", displayName: "Journal Entry")
   CSSearchableIndex.default().indexSearchableItems([item]) { error in
       if let error = error {
           print("Indexing error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
       } else {
           print("Search item successfully indexed!")
       }
   }
   

For a detailed walkthrough, you can refer to the session Support semantic search with Core Spotlight from WWDC 2024.

Relevant Sessions

1. Support semantic search with Core Spotlight
2. What’s new in App Intents
3. Bring your app to Siri