“Smart Search” is available as a feature preview in UW-Madison's instance of Canvas. Smart Search is a course search tool that can be used by instructors, students, and anyone else enrolled in a Canvas course.

Leveraging semantic algorithms and AI, Smart Search understands the context of queries, providing more accurate and relevant results without the need for traditional boolean operators or other search tools. This approach is an improvement over traditional keyword-based searches, and will enable users to swiftly and efficiently navigate the vast array of educational resources available on Canvas.

As a feature preview, Smart Search is available for all courses but instructors/course owners will need to enable it before being able to use it.

To enable Smart Search:

1. In your Canvas course, go to Settings > Feature Options and enable the Smart Search feature option.
2. Double check your course navigation settings (Settings > Navigation) to ensure Smart Search is visible to you and your students in the course navigation bar.

Once you see Smart Search on the course navigation bar, simply click it to start your search.

Smart Search continues to undergo improvements but currently only searches the following items within a course: Pages, Announcements, Discussions prompts, and Assignment descriptions.

Smart Search does not yet work in Canvas mobile apps.