# Ecommerce Search Autocomplete

> Autocomplete offers useful suggestions while a shopper types. Keep the list short enough to scan and make it clear whether each suggestion is a query, category, brand or product.

- Type: Merchant guide
- Level: Intermediate
- Reading time: About 4 minutes
- Audience: Written for store owners, builders, and designers refining high-performance ecommerce stores.
- Last updated: 2026-11-04
- Canonical page: https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/ecommerce-search-autocomplete/
- Part of: [Merchant Questions](https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/) on ZenBasket Academy

---

## What you need to know

### Which suggestions belong there?

You can show a search phrase, a category, and a specific product as separate kinds of suggestion. Include an image and current price only for actual product suggestions when those facts are reliable.

### How should suggestions work on a phone?

The keyboard takes much of the screen, so test the visible list on a real phone. A shopper should be able to tap a suggestion, finish typing, submit the full search, and close the suggestions without losing the query.

### Why can suggestions look irrelevant?

Old product names, popular but unrelated terms and overly broad matching can crowd out the shopper’s phrase. Review the queries that produce poor suggestions and remove duplicates or stale suggestions before adding more.

### A simple check to try

Type the first few letters slowly on a phone. Check the labels, order, tap targets, and destination of every suggestion.

---

## Frequently asked questions

### How many suggestions should appear?

Use the space available and test whether choices remain easy to scan. There is no universal number.

### Where do I configure autocomplete?

Use the current search guide to verify whether suggestions can be configured, then test the live list on a phone.

## Related articles

- **Zero-Result Search Recovery**
- **Ecommerce Site Search Basics**
- [ZenBasket Build Guide](https://help.getzenbasket.com/zenbasket-builder/)