Connecting Algolia to AI: question and correct the search on your own site
Algolia can be connected to AI. The assistant searches the index you point it at, using the same filters and facets the search box on the site uses, and it can add, update or remove records. That last part touches what visitors see, so it only happens on explicit request and only on a record the assistant looked up first.
What the assistant can do with the index
Search the way the site searches
The assistant runs a search on the index you point it at, using the same filters and facets as the search box on the site. The result is therefore comparable to what a visitor would see.
Keep results bounded
It caps the number of hits and the fields it gets back. That keeps an answer readable and prevents half a catalogue being pulled into a conversation to answer one question.
Add a record
The assistant can place a new record in the index. It shows what it intends to add first, because once it is there a visitor can find it.
Update a record
Changing an existing record is possible too, a title, a price or a category for example. It always works on a record found in an earlier search, never on an identifier it made up itself.
Remove a record
Removal is final: the result disappears from the search on the site. That is why this is the action organisations most often leave switched off, and that is perfectly fine.
What teams use this for
E-commerce
- Situation
- A customer reports that a product cannot be found, while it is right there in the shop.
- What the agent does
- The assistant searches the product name in the index and checks whether the record exists and with which attributes.
- Result
- Within a few sentences it is clear whether the record is missing, wrongly categorised or simply ranking low.
Web editing
- Situation
- After a clean-up of the website the question is whether references to old pages still linger in the search results.
- What the agent does
- The assistant searches specifically for the old terms and shows which records still exist.
- Result
- A list to work through, instead of spot checks in the search box on the site.
Customer service
- Situation
- An agent wants to know what a customer sees when they search for a particular term.
- What the agent does
- The assistant runs that same search against the index and returns the top results.
- Result
- The agent can follow the customer exactly without opening the site or logging in.
Content management
- Situation
- A category has been renamed and a handful of records still carry the old name.
- What the agent does
- The assistant looks up the records in question, shows them and updates them once approved.
- Result
- The change is visible in search straight away, with a short list of exactly what was adjusted.
Setting it up and fencing it in
-
1
Connecting from the platform
You grant access from your own Algolia account and store it once in IntraGPT. That access can be withdrawn again on your side in a single step.
-
2
Choosing which index is meant
Many organisations run several indexes side by side, a product index and a knowledge base index for instance, sometimes with a test copy next to them. You record which one the assistant may reach, so a change never lands in the wrong index.
-
3
Deciding whether writing is allowed
Searching and changing are separate. Many teams start with search only and switch adding and updating on once it is clear how the assistant is used in practice. Removal can stay off permanently.
-
4
What gets recorded
Every use of the connection lands in the IntraGPT log, changes included. If a search result looks unexpected, it can be traced when and at whose request something was adjusted.
The index is publicly visible, the access is not
What sits in a search index is usually meant for visitors. The risk is not in reading along, it is in changing: a mistake there is instantly visible to everyone.
Where the data lives: Nederland of de EU
Never a blind change
The assistant only works on records it looked up first, and shows what it intends to do before a change. That rules out an edit landing on a record it merely assumed existed.
Access you fence in
The access comes from your own account and can be limited to searching or to a single index. What the access does not allow, the connection cannot do, however the question is phrased.
Writing only for the right roles
In IntraGPT you decide which employees may use the assistant with write rights. Everyone else gets the same assistant without that ability.
The model runs with us
Answers are produced on our own server in the Netherlands. What sits in your index does not travel to an American model vendor and is not used for training.
Questions about the Algolia connector
Is the assistant simply allowed to write into the search index?
Only if you switch that on. With it off the assistant can only search. With it on it works on a record it found first, shows what it wants to write and waits for approval. Removal can be left off separately, because that one cannot be undone.
Does IntraGPT work with Algolia?
Yes. Algolia is in the IntraGPT connector catalogue. The assistant searches the index you point it at and can add, update and remove records when you give it that room.
What happens when a record no longer exists?
Then no change is made and the assistant reports that the record was not found. It does not invent an identifier and it does not quietly turn the edit into a new record. That is exactly why it always searches first.
Can I connect Algolia to ChatGPT?
ChatGPT has no connection to your index. With IntraGPT you ask the same questions in a chat, but with access you grant yourself, bounded to the index you choose, and with every change recorded in a log.
Does this work when we have several indexes?
Yes. Each connection records which index it concerns. If you run a product index and a knowledge base index, you set up two. That is deliberate: a change meant for one index can then never end up in the other.
Does the assistant see how ranking is configured?
It sees the results as the index returns them, with the filters and facets that belong to the question. The settings behind the ranking are managed by the search owner in Algolia itself; the connection changes nothing there.
What does an Algolia connector cost?
Connecting is part of the track we go through together. What drives the work is the number of indexes, whether writing is allowed and who may use the assistant. In a thirty minute conversation we turn that into a concrete plan.
How long does setup take?
With access and the name of the index at hand it is switched on in minutes. Most of the time goes into the decision whether the assistant may also write, and that is a decision we would rather take well than quickly.