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Release: July 2026 Release
Release Date: July 15, 2026

Overview

This release improves autocomplete functionality and performance, expands support for site-specific HawkSearch API configuration, and adds additional product data for use within Optimizely implementations.

New Features & Enhancements

  • Popular Searches in Autocomplete
    • Added support for displaying HawkSearch Popular Searches within autocomplete results.
  • Product SortOrder Support
    • Added the Optimizely product SortOrder value to the HawkSearch product document.
    • The value is stored as a non-indexed field and can be used by storefront integrations without changing the existing Product Listing Page search behavior.
  • Site-Specific API URL Configuration
    • Updated HawkSearch API URL settings so they can be configured independently for each site rather than globally.
    • Site-specific configuration is now supported for:
      • Dashboard
      • Indexing
      • Search
      • Autocomplete
      • Event Tracking
      • Recommendations

Performance Improvements

  • Reduced Autocomplete Response Size
    • Updated autocomplete requests to retrieve only the product fields required by the connector.
    • This reduces response size by avoiding the return of unnecessary product, restriction, attribute, and customer-specific data.

Bug Fixes

  • Field and Facet Configuration Protection
    • Removed the field and facet override toggles from the connector.
    • This prevents existing HawkSearch field and facet settings from being unintentionally overwritten during indexing or configuration updates.


Release: April 2026 Release
Release Date: 4/17/2026

New Features & Enhancements

Bug Fixes

  • Resolved an issue where part numbers were not being returned in the Product Listing API
  • Resolved an issue where category facets were not being returned when applying category filters on PLPs

Release: November 2025 Release
Release Date : 11/21/2025

Overview

This release updates the Optimizely Connector (Xngage) to leverage newly available HawkSearch API endpoints that bypass the HawkSearch AI, merchandising and tracking layers, resulting in better performance for system-level operations.

New Features & Enhancements

  • Direct Engine Query Support (Performance Enhancement)
    The Optimizely Connector now integrates with HawkSearch’s new Get-Products endpoint, enabling direct queries to the underlying Elastic/OpenSearch engine.


    This enhancement improves performance for:

    • Product visibility checks
    • Navigation and menu building
    • Sitemap rebuild workflows
    • High-volume backend operations where AI scoring is not required

    Key Capabilities

    • Direct access to OpenSearch/Elastic
    • Eliminates AI/ML scoring layer for improved speed
    • Supports facet overrides, query injection, pagination, and 100% coverage

Release: September 2025 Release
Release Date : 09/24/2025

Overview

This release introduces Smart Search support, expands compatibility for Visual/Image Search, improves tracking and analytics capabilities, and includes several performance optimizations and bug fixes. It also ensures certification with the latest Optimizely LTS release.

New Features & Enhancements

  • Smart Search Support
    • Added support for Concept Search (keywords, descriptions, etc.) and Image Search (default + additional product images).
    • Introduced a new RequestType parameter to control the type of search performed.
    • Added configuration for kValue to manage relevancy thresholds (recommended 3–5).
    • Provided frontend sample/demo for Smart Search integration.
  • Visual Search – Expanded File Format Support
    • Frontend now supports webp, jpeg, avif, and other modern image formats for Visual Search upload.
    • Please see documentation for visual search
  • Event Tracking – Click Support & Documentation
    • Added connector support for Click events via HawkSearch Event Tracking API.
    • Please see documentation for blueprint frontends to integrate tracking API calls.
  • Optimizely Upgrade Certification
    • Certified Xngage HawkSearch connector for Optimizely 5.2.2504+ LTS (May 2025 release).
  • Bot Traffic Limiting
    • Improved request filtering using required headers:
      • X-HawkSearch-ClientGuid
      • X-Forwarded-For
      • User-Agent
    • Enhances bot detection, traffic auditing, and reporting accuracy.
  • Attribute Value Ordering
    • Optimizely attribute sort orders now map to HawkSearch via BoostValues in facet creation/update.
  • Performance Optimization – Visibility Checks
    • Reduced payload size by removing unnecessary ClientData.
    • Optimized query syntax to improve performance and reduce API overhead.

Bug Fixes

  • External API Accessibility
    • Resolved issue where Recommendations and Event Tracking API endpoints returned 404 errors in obfuscated builds.
  • VMI Product Display Limit
    • Fixed issue where Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) product lists were limited to 12 items when using HawkSearch provider.
    • Now correctly displays full product counts as expected.

Release: June 2025 Release
Release Date : 07/10/2025

Included Updates:

  • Support for Jan 2025 Long-Term Support (LTS) Version: This update ensures compatibility with the Jan 2025 LTS release (Version 5.2.2412.1586+lts)
  • Automated Field Configuration for Improved Performance: A new feature now automatically adjusts field settings during engine setup, optimizing performance and preventing errors caused by large numbers of fields.
  • Toggle for Zip Code Inclusion in Search Requests: A configurable toggle has been added to allow the inclusion or exclusion of zip codes in search requests, preventing duplicate keyword entries that could impact reports.
  • Enhanced Search Tracking with Facet Filters: Tracking now only triggers for actual search queries, ensuring more precise data. Additionally, facet selections are managed more effectively, leading to more accurate tracking.

Updated 2 days ago

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