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AI Search 101 — Fast Facts & What Has Changed

Already heard about AI Search and just need the key facts? This article is for you. Whether you're onboarding new staff, preparing for a faculty meeting, or just want a quick refresher before a student asks you a question, here's everything you need to know in one place.

 Key Facts at a Glance

The 8 Things Every Career Center Staff Member Should Know

1. AI Search is ON automatically — no setup required to activate it. The legacy keyword search bar is also still active on your platform. 

2. It only searches your VCC — not the internet, not other institutions' content.

3. It will not make things up — if the content doesn't exist in your platform, it says so.

4. Students don't need to learn new AI skills — they just ask questions in plain language.

5. Guest users (not logged in) get 1 search; logged-in users get unlimited searches + personalized results.

6. Your existing content is already being indexed but still be sure to tag your content. 

7. Every result includes a citation — students can always see exactly where content came from.

8. Student feedback (thumbs up/down) directly shapes how uConnect improves AI Search.

What Has NOT Changed

Your traditional keyword search bar will still remain in the top ribbon area of your platform, so if you and others prefer to search in this manner, you can still do so.

When using AI Search, it's how students find content, but it does not change how you create or publish it. Your existing workflow for creating blog posts, resources, events, and community pages remains exactly the same. No new tagging, no SEO optimization, no special formatting is required for your content to be discovered by AI Search.


Authentication Matters More Than Ever

With the launch of AI Search, encouraging students to log in becomes even more important than before. Here's why:

  • Personalization: Logged-in students receive results that are boosted based on their role, graduation year, and community affiliations — making AI Search significantly more useful for each individual.
  • Engagement Scores (Coming Soon): AI Search activity for logged-in students contributes to Engagement Scores, giving your team valuable data about how students are interacting with your content.
  • Content access: Students who are not logged in cannot access SSO-protected content, even if it would be relevant to their question.

Pro Tip: Bookmark this article and share it with new team members. It's a great starting point for anyone getting up to speed on AI Search quickly.