Hybrid backend search

AI-powered

Overview

PREREQUISITES:

• This feature is available as of Sitefinity CMS 15.4.8635.
• Your Sitefinity CMS license must include the Sitefinity AI package. For more information, see Sitefinity AI.
• The built-in Progress® Agentic RAG System connection must be configured. Hybrid backend search works only with the system connection; it does not use user-created Agentic RAG connections. For more information, see Agentic RAG connection.

The search field in content list grids, such as News, Blog posts, Lists, Events, Documents & Files, Images, Videos, and dynamic content types, supports hybrid backend search, powered by Progress Agentic RAG. Hybrid backend search combines keyword matching and semantic (AI-powered) search to deliver more relevant results for supported backend resources, even when the results do not contain the exact words you searched for.

A content item can only appear in hybrid backend search results if it is indexed in Progress Agentic RAG. For the list of content types that the Agentic RAG connector indexes, see Content indexing.

NOTE: Semantic search is not available for pages, page templates, widget templates, section presets, or form responses. Classifications are supported only by full-text matching and do not participate in semantic search.

Permissions

Hybrid backend search results are always filtered by the current user's permissions. Sitefinity CMS sends the user's access groups with every hybrid search request, so results never include items the user is not authorized to view.

For a detailed explanation of how Sitefinity CMS permissions are mapped to Progress Agentic RAG, see Permissions in the Agentic RAG connector.

Configure hybrid backend search

To configure hybrid backend search, perform the following:

1. Navigate to Administration » Settings » Advanced » Search » BackendHybridSearch.
2. Configure the following settings:
   • Enable Hybrid Search –
     Combines keyword matching and semantic search for supported backend resources. Clear this checkbox to use keyword matching only. Selected by default.
   • Minimum semantic score –
     Sets how closely the results must match your search query, from 0.0 (loosest) to 0.5 (strictest). Higher values return more precise results. Results may vary depending on the Progress Agentic RAG model in use. The default value is 0.5.
   • Maximum search results –
     Limits the maximum number of results shown per search, up to 200. The default value is 30.
3. Click Save changes.

NOTE: Hybrid backend search returns a single page of results, up to the number of items specified in Maximum search results.

Additional resources

• Sitefinity AI
• Agentic RAG connection
• Customize Agentic RAG indexing
• Permissions in the Agentic RAG connector
• Backend search index for media
• Compare search services