Suggestion with Auto-Complete

The Suggestion with Auto-Complete API extends the standard Suggestion API by adding auto-complete functionality. This endpoint returns suggested terms, trending terms, and auto-complete suggestions based on prefix matching of the search query.

Auto-complete suggestions are generated by matching the beginning of the user's input against previously searched terms, sorted by search frequency (popularity).

API Endpoint

Method: POST

URL: https://<PA_SEARCH_END_POINT>/search/suggestion-auto-complete

Request Header

Name	Value
Content-Type	application/json
Authorization	Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN

Request Parameters (Body)

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
website_id	string	Yes	Client unique website ID provided by PA.
q	string	Yes	Input search query string. Used for prefix matching in auto-complete.
client	string	Yes	Unique client shortcode provided by PA.

Example Request

curl --location 'https://<PA_SEARCH_END_POINT>/search/suggestion-auto-complete' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer cGFTZXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXA==' \
--data '{
    "website_id": "XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX",
    "q": "dress",
    "client": "CLIENT_SHORTCODE"
}'

Response Payload

{
    "type": 1,
    "code": 0,
    "payload": {
        "suggested_terms": [
            {
                "search_term": "dress",
                "frequency": 1250
            },
            {
                "search_term": "dress shoes",
                "frequency": 890
            }
        ],
        "trending_terms": [
            {
                "search_term": "summer dress",
                "frequency": 2100
            }
        ],
        "synthetic_suggested_terms": [
            {
                "search_term": "dress shirts",
                "frequency": 500
            }
        ],
        "synthetic_trending_terms": [
            {
                "search_term": "wedding dress",
                "frequency": 800
            }
        ],
        "auto_complete": [
            {
                "search_term": "dress",
                "frequency": 1250
            },
            {
                "search_term": "dress shoes",
                "frequency": 890
            },
            {
                "search_term": "dress pants",
                "frequency": 650
            },
            {
                "search_term": "dresses for women",
                "frequency": 420
            }
        ]
    }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
type	integer	Response type. 1 = success, -1 = failed.
code	integer	Response code. 0 = normal.
payload	object	Contains all suggestion results.
payload.suggested_terms	array	List of suggested terms based on search history.
payload.trending_terms	array	List of currently trending search terms.
payload.synthetic_suggested_terms	array	List of manually configured suggested terms.
payload.synthetic_trending_terms	array	List of manually configured trending terms.
payload.auto_complete	array	List of auto-complete suggestions based on prefix matching, sorted by frequency.

Auto-Complete Behavior

The auto_complete field provides search term suggestions that start with the user's input query:

• Prefix Matching: Matches terms that begin with the query string (case-insensitive)
• Frequency Sorting: Results are sorted by search frequency in descending order
• Result Limit: Returns up to 10 auto-complete suggestions by default

For example, if the query is "dre", auto-complete might return: "dress", "dress shoes", "dress pants", etc.

Error Response

If there are any errors, the response will indicate failure:

{
    "type": -1,
    "code": 0,
    "payload": {},
    "detail": "Failed to construct search query"
}

Example Usage (JavaScript)

const apiUrl = 'https://<PA_SEARCH_END_POINT>/search/suggestion-auto-complete';
const accessToken = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN';

const body = {
    website_id: 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    q: 'dress',
    client: 'CLIENT_SHORTCODE'
};

fetch(apiUrl, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(body)
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
    if (data.type === 1) {
        // Display auto-complete suggestions as user types
        const autoComplete = data.payload.auto_complete || [];
        autoComplete.forEach(item => {
            console.log(`${item.search_term} (${item.frequency} searches)`);
        });

        // Also access other suggestion types
        console.log('Suggested terms:', data.payload.suggested_terms);
        console.log('Trending terms:', data.payload.trending_terms);
    } else {
        console.error('Request failed');
    }
})
.catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));

Summary

• The Suggestion with Auto-Complete API extends the standard Suggestion API with prefix-based auto-complete.
• Auto-complete suggestions match the beginning of the search query and are sorted by popularity.
• Returns suggested terms, trending terms, synthetic terms, and auto-complete suggestions in a single response.
• Ideal for implementing search-as-you-type functionality in search boxes.
• For basic suggestions without auto-complete, see the Suggestion API.