Apple is embracing AI in iOS 18 while also working to improve users' ability to get answers in more traditional ways with its Spotlight Search feature. Spotlight search, accessed by swiping down from the center of the home screen, already helps iPhone users search on their device and on the web. Web is a replacement for Google Search. With iOS 18, Apple is making it easier for people to find content within apps using natural language, or “semantic” queries.
Spotlight was already able to search for content in a developer's app, but it only returned results if the search term matched exactly. With the addition of semantic search this year, people will be able to search for content in apps using search terms with similar meanings, Apple told developers this week at WWDC 2024.
The Core Spotlight framework allows developers to donate content they want to make searchable through Spotlight, which is stored in a private index on the user's device that no other app can access. New semantic features will allow users to discover content inside apps in their own way, greatly improving Spotlight's understanding of developer content. These types of queries are downloaded to the device and run in the app process, leveraging machine learning models that can be loaded or unloaded at any time, Apple said.
Additionally, Spotlight Search allows developers to help improve their app's ranking in search results over time by signaling Spotlight when iPhone owners engage with one of the results.
For example, if someone searches for a specific local hiking trail, the semantic search feature can use understood entities, such as the location of the trail or specific keywords, to find results related to the user's search query. It didn't exactly match the name of the trail. Developers can also set higher priorities for some content as needed. This allows you to do things like show trails that users have saved as favorites to rank them higher in search results.
The end result is that users can use Spotlight's natural language queries to search for specific trails, find the trail they're looking for more easily through improved results, and then tap on the result to go straight to the trail page on the developer's hike. Trail app. The update also helps Siri better understand app content, Apple said.
While not as exciting as the AI-powered Siri or ChatGPT integrations, these types of internal updates will provide an improved experience for iPhone users who use Spotlight to find information in apps, or even those who use Spotlight. As an alternative to web browsing.
