Most enterprise organizations have invested heavily in creating knowledge. But when it comes time to finding that information, whether it lives in a knowledge base, a product doc portal, a service desk tool, or even a Slack thread, the experience can fall apart.
Search is broken. Not always visibly, but quietly. And it’s costing us time, customer satisfaction, and trust across all users.
Let’s talk about why this happens, and more importantly, what we can do about it.
The Core Problem Isn’t Just Technology
The real challenge goes deeper than tool limitations. Too often:
- Search algorithms aren’t tuned for real-world queries
- Content is written from the responder’s perspective, not the requestor’s
- Multiple repositories hold overlapping or outdated versions of the same information
- Organizations assume “search is working” just because results appear
This creates a frustrating experience. Internal users give up and ping someone directly. Customers bail on self-service and open a ticket. Leaders wonder why support volumes stay high despite all the investment in knowledge tools.
Why It Matters Right Now
In today’s economy, teams are expected to do more with less. That makes findability more than just a UX problem. It directly affects productivity, customer satisfaction, and support costs.
Whether you’re using Salesforce, Zendesk, ServiceNow, or something else entirely, improving how users find answers is now a strategic priority.
Search Tools Leading the Way in 2025
If you haven’t looked at the search space recently, there’s a lot of movement. Here are the top tools making an impact this year, especially for knowledge-heavy environments.
Enterprise Search Platforms
- Coveo: Known for AI-powered personalization and tuning across support and commerce use cases
- Lucidworks Fusion: Strong in custom AI search pipelines and relevance tuning
- SearchUnify: Built for support and service environments with out-of-the-box integrations
- Elastic Enterprise Search: Great for dev-heavy teams looking for flexible indexing
- Glean: A modern, AI-enhanced platform gaining traction in hybrid content ecosystems
ITSM Platforms with Smart Search
- ServiceNow: Strong federated search and relevance scoring built into workflows
- Zendesk: Lightweight but effective if you tune it properly and link knowledge well
- Salesforce Service Cloud: Includes Einstein Search for contextual recommendations
- Freshservice and Jira Service Management: Practical options for growing teams
Practical Ways to Improve Findability
Improving search isn’t only about the technology. It’s about how you configure it, how your content is written, and how you use data to refine the experience.
1. Make Search Someone’s Job
- Assign ownership to a product manager, knowledge lead, or search strategist
- Set up feedback loops to capture what’s working and what’s not
2. Write in the Requestor’s Language
- Use the words your customers or internal users type into the search bar
- Apply KCS principles to capture context at the moment the issue arises
3. Connect All the Dots
- Federate your search across knowledge bases, product docs, forums, and ticket data
- Use unified platforms like Coveo or SearchUnify to bring it all together
4. Let Analytics Drive Improvements
- Look at what’s being searched, where people click, and where they drop off
- Tune relevance scores and update content based on real behavior, not assumptions
SMBs and Enterprises Need Different Approaches
If you’re in a small or midsize team:
- Start by tuning what you already have
- Use built-in analytics to track top queries and zero-result searches
For enterprise environments:
- Go deeper with Knowledge Domain Analysis
- Invest in a platform that supports AI tuning, relevance testing, and federated indexing
Search Tells a Story—Are You Listening?
Search behavior is a window into what your customers and employees are trying to do. If people can’t find answers, that’s a signal. It tells you where your content, processes, or tools might be falling short.
When you get it right, people stop asking around and start solving problems on their own. That’s when your knowledge strategy really delivers value.
I’m curious: what’s been your biggest challenge when it comes to search or knowledge findability?
Let’s trade notes.
#KnowledgeManagement #SearchStrategy #KCS #ContentOps #ITSM #ServiceNow #Coveo #Zendesk #SupportLeadership #SelfService
Let me know if you’d like help turning this into a slide deck or downloadable guide for internal teams.