Search operators
Search operators are special words and symbols in a query that change how a search engine matches it, such as quotation marks for an exact phrase, site: to limit results to one domain, a minus sign to exclude a word, and before: or after: to limit dates. They let a person or an agent state constraints directly in the query.
Search operators come from the Boolean queries of library and database search and were part of early web engines such as AltaVista in the 1990s. AI agents use them often because they write queries programmatically, but search APIs differ in support: some read operators in the query text, and others take separate parameters, such as the site parameter in the Keenable Search API.
Example
The query “rate limit” site:docs.github.com uses two search operators and returns only pages on GitHub’s documentation site that contain the exact phrase “rate limit”. Without them, results could include blog posts about rate limiting in general.
How it works in NEEDLE
NEEDLE leaves quoted phrases in the query text and gives site:, after: and before: to each engine in the form it supports, as a request parameter or as an operator in the query. An engine that supports neither gets the query without that operator. The LLM judge caps the rating of a result that ignores a quoted phrase or a site: restriction. See the live NEEDLE results.
FAQ
Do search APIs support search operators?
Support for search operators varies by search API. Some accept operators such as site: inside the query text, others ignore them or need separate parameters, so an agent should check the API documentation before relying on them.
Which search operators are most useful for AI agents?
The search operators most useful to AI agents are quotation marks for exact phrases, site: to stay on a trusted domain and date limits to get recent pages, because the agent can check each result against them.
Related terms
Written by Keenable.
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