DEFINITION
Search based on the meaning of a query rather than its exact words. Search in the Clivio library works differently, with rules that understand everyday phrasing. It recognizes a type of document (“invoices”), an amount (“over 1,000 euros”), a period (“this year”, “2025”) or a known sender, so you can type “EDF invoices 2025”.
Keyword search and semantic search
Keyword search finds documents that contain the words you typed. Ask for “termination” and it misses a lease that only says “notice to leave”. Semantic search turns the query and the documents into numbers that capture their meaning, often stored in a vector database, and returns the passages closest in meaning, whatever the wording.
The trade-off: semantic search is more forgiving but less exact. It can surface a passage on the right topic that isn’t the one you meant, and it’s weaker on precise values such as an invoice number.
How search works in Clivio
In the Clivio library, you type the way you’d talk, and rules turn your words into filters. “EDF invoices 2025” becomes a type (invoice), a sender (EDF) and a year. Clivio also understands amounts (over, under or between two figures) and periods such as the last 7 or 30 days, this month or this year. It searches the full text of your documents too, scans included.
Search doesn’t use any AI action, and ⌘K opens it from any page. To ask what a document says, open it and use the AI chat tab, which answers from the document and highlights the passage it relies on.
Frequently asked questions
Is semantic search better than keyword search?
Neither wins every time. Semantic search helps when you don’t know the exact words, keyword search when you’re after an exact value such as a name or an invoice number. Many tools combine both.
Does searching in Clivio use AI actions?
No. Searching your library costs nothing, and neither do calculation questions on your data, like a total for one supplier.