For most of us, Google has become an extension of our own brains. It’s our go-to for finding everything from recipes to research to “who’s that actress in that thing?”. It’s so universal, it’s become a verb. It’s second nature. But when it comes to finding specific companies based on nuanced business needs, Google’s keyword-driven approach often falls short.
Our Smart Search feature builds on what makes Google so intuitive: type what you’re looking for and get results. But here’s the difference: it doesn’t just match words, it understands meaning. By analysing sentences or even paragraphs, it pinpoints companies that align with your intent, no matter how they’ve described themselves on their websites. It then presents them in a clear list alongside all The Data City data that you’ve come to love.
Think of it as Google’s precision, reimagined for uncovering companies that meet your exact needs, without the trial-and-error of traditional search.
In case you’re new to us we’re The Data City, a tech company redefining how people see the economy. We harness real-time data to uncover and map the industries shaping our futures.
What is Smart Search?
Traditional keyword searches often fall short when it comes to finding the right companies for your needs. They rely on exact matches of keywords on company websites, leaving you sifting through irrelevant results or requiring comprehensive taxonomies covering every possible search term. That’s why we’re excited to introduce a new way to search companies on our platform, leveraging advanced language models to deliver results based on the meaning behind your words, not just the keywords.
Instead of typing isolated phrases, you can now input sentences or even paragraphs describing what you’re looking for. Our system processes your input, analyses company websites, and delivers the matched results, all with the nuance of human-like understanding of context.
Why should you be using it?
Keyword searching still has its place. But where can Smart Search make your life easier?
1. Faster insights, fewer dead ends
No more bouncing between irrelevant search results. Whether you’re scouting for “renewable energy solutions tailored for urban centres” or “emerging startups innovating in agricultural robotics”, Smart Search saves you time and effort by delivering the most accurate results upfront. It’s quick and it’s with natural language search, entry time is dramatically reduced. Explore company niches instantly.
2. Find the unexpected
Identify companies you didn’t even know existed. With Smart Search you can describe your needs in natural language, and the system identifies companies that fit, even if their websites don’t use those exact terms.
Imagine you’re looking for companies that “design modular housing solutions for disaster relief zones”. With keywords, you’d need to guess terms like “modular housing,” “disaster relief,” and more. A slight variation in phrasing could fail to capture the specific niche. Smart Search “understands” what you’re looking for and captures companies using terms that you might not have even considered.
3. No more chasing evolving sector buzzwords
Stop spending hours refining the perfect taxonomy to find the sector is suddenly speaking in a different language and your search terms are no longer effective.
4. Capturing complex needs
What if you want to identify “firms that focus on AI-driven tools for healthcare diagnosis”. Traditional search would struggle to connect the dots if those companies don’t explicitly link AI, healthcare, and diagnosis in their text. Our solution reads between the lines, understanding context to find relevant matches.
5.More time for better decision-making
With richer, more relevant insights, get time back to focus on strategy instead of search. Whether you’re looking to identify potential project partners with that missing element to fulfil a brief; or you’re looking to invest in companies with a targeted research interest; or you need to find suppliers that meet exact requirements, even when their offerings aren’t described in common terms; spend less time trawling the web to find the companies that you need, and more time on the day-job.
What Smart Search isn’t
While our search is powerful, it’s important to understand its scope. The system identifies companies based on the content of their websites, meaning it can only work with the information that companies explicitly share.
For example, it won’t reliably identify high-growth or fast-growing companies, as these traits are rarely stated outright. Similarly, it may struggle to pinpoint whether a company is women-founded or meets other specific criteria unless that information is prominently mentioned.
While it might locate companies in a particular location if stated on their site, its accuracy depends entirely on the clarity and availability of the data the company provides.
This isn’t a limitation; it’s a reflection of the product’s focus of uncovering insights directly from what companies choose to say about themselves. So, it’s important to take some time to think about how well your search phrase or paragraph might really work in this context.
Try it yourself
This isn’t just an improvement, it’s a reimagination of search. Whether you’re identifying new markets, scouting potential acquisitions, or simply exploring the business landscape, Smart Search offers a more intuitive way to connect with the right companies.
Say goodbye to the limitations of keyword searches. Start finding the companies that matter most on your terms.
Ready to experience the data for yourself? Sign up for a free trial today and see how our data can transform your insights.
