Our shortlist by company type.
- Manufacturer or distributor that wants industrial search and qualified leads, managed for you: Xearch
- Enterprise that wants one AI search layer across commerce, support and knowledge: Coveo
- Enterprise selling configurable products with guided selling and CPQ: Zoovu
- Distributor on a B2B commerce platform wanting proven site search: HawkSearch
- Developer team that wants to build its own: Algolia, Typesense or Elasticsearch
What industrial search has to get right
We scored each tool against five things that decide whether an industrial buyer finds the right part.
- Specification queries. Does “5 inch caster, 1,000 lbs” filter by wheel diameter and load rating, or just match the numbers as text?
- Application queries. Does “casters for a washdown area” surface corrosion-resistant products, using knowledge from your guides and datasheets?
- Part numbers and compatibility. Does a part number return the product and the replacement parts that fit it?
- Sales handover. When the buyer needs a quote or a custom answer, does the requirement reach sales with context?
- Effort and cost. What does it take a mid-sized team to implement and run?
The tools at a glance
| Tool | Type | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xearch | AI product search and sales assistant | Technical B2B catalogs, managed deployment | Focused on product search, not a marketing suite |
| Algolia | Search API | Developer-led teams, many content types | Usage-based costs; B2B logic is custom |
| Coveo | Enterprise AI search | Commerce plus support plus knowledge | Enterprise cost and implementation |
| Zoovu | Guided selling and discovery | Configurable products, CPQ and RFQ | Enterprise scope; platform consolidation |
| HawkSearch | B2B site search | Distributors on B2B platforms | Assistant-led selling is lighter |
| Constructor | Retail AI search | High-traffic B2C retail | Needs behavioural data volume |
| Bloomreach | Commerce suite | Discovery plus marketing on one platform | Heavier adoption |
| Athos Commerce | Mid-market search | Searchspring and Klevu users | Platform migration through 2027 |
| Elasticsearch | Engine | Teams building their own | Engineering and operations cost |
| Typesense / Meilisearch | Open-source engines | Fast, predictable-cost builds | Product logic is yours to build |
1. Xearch
Xearch is AI product search and a sales assistant built for industrial and B2B catalogs. It is trained on your product data, catalog PDFs, guides and videos, turns numbers and units into filters, resolves part numbers to compatible parts, and hands buyers who need a person to sales with their requirement captured. Deployment is done by Xearch engineers. See it on a real catalog in the castor wheels case study.
Choose it if: your buyers search like engineers and you want results and leads, not a search project. Look elsewhere if: you need an all-in-one marketing suite or a full CPQ configurator.
2. Coveo
Coveo’s strength is one AI relevance platform across commerce, service, website and workplace content, with generative answers and deep enterprise connectors. Choose it if search is an enterprise-wide programme. Full comparison.
3. Zoovu
Zoovu leads on guided selling for complex products and has strong B2B tooling (visual CPQ, bill of materials, RFQ). Its May 2026 acquisition of XGEN AI adds conversational search and assistants. Choose it if buyers need help choosing between configurable products. Full comparison.
4. HawkSearch
HawkSearch by Bridgeline is one of the few search products that markets primarily to B2B and industrial distribution, with part-number and attribute search and merchandising. Choose it if you’re a distributor on a B2B commerce platform. Full comparison.
5. Algolia
Algolia is the developer favourite: fast, well documented and flexible, with NeuralSearch and Agent Studio for AI experiences. Choose it if you have developers who want to build exactly what they design. Full comparison.
6. Constructor
Constructor ranks results with behavioural data at retail scale and offers an AI Shopping Agent. Choose it if you’re a high-traffic consumer retailer. Full comparison.
7. Bloomreach
Bloomreach Discovery sits inside a suite with marketing automation and CMS. Choose it if you want the whole platform. Full comparison.
8. Athos Commerce (Searchspring and Klevu)
Marketer-friendly mid-market search, now consolidating onto one platform with legacy retirement in 2027. Choose it if you’re a happy Searchspring or Klevu customer. Full comparison.
9. Elasticsearch and OpenSearch
The engines behind many large B2B sites, if you build everything on top. Choose them if you have a search engineering team. Full comparison.
10. Typesense and Meilisearch
Fast, open-source engines with predictable costs. This website’s search runs on Typesense. Choose them if you want to build lean. Full comparison.
How to run a fair evaluation
- Pull 20 to 30 real queries from search logs and your sales inbox: part numbers, specs with units, and application questions.
- Load the same catalog sample into each shortlisted tool.
- Score the top five results for each query: would the buyer be satisfied?
- Check what happens when the buyer needs a person: where does the enquiry go, and with what context?
- Ask each vendor who does the set-up and tuning work, and for how long.
We’re happy to be part of that test. Book a call and bring your queries.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best product search for industrial parts?
It depends on your team and catalog. For a focused, managed product that understands specs, applications and part numbers and hands leads to sales, Xearch is built for that job. Enterprises wanting one search layer across commerce and support often choose Coveo. Teams wanting guided selling and CPQ look at Zoovu. Developer-led teams often build on Algolia, Typesense or Elasticsearch.
What makes B2B product search different from B2C?
B2B buyers search with precise requirements: numbers and units, operating environments, and part numbers of what they’re replacing. Catalogs are long-tail, so there is less click data to learn from, and many orders still need a salesperson, so handover matters.
How do I evaluate product search tools?
Take 20 to 30 real queries from your search logs and sales inbox, including part numbers, spec queries and application questions. Run them on each shortlisted tool using your own catalog data and score whether the top results would satisfy the buyer.
Is AI search worth it for a mid-sized distributor?
If buyers regularly fail to find parts you stock, or your sales team spends time answering “do you have something that fits X” questions, AI product search usually pays for itself through recovered orders and better-qualified enquiries.
Sources
- 13 best ecommerce search engines in 2026 (Zoovu)
- The 7 best Algolia alternatives for site search in 2026 (Ringly)
- Athos Commerce 2026 platform transition (Business Wire)
- Zoovu acquires XGEN AI (Pulse 2.0, May 2026)
- Constructor AI retail search momentum (CMOtech, March 2026)
- HawkSearch industrial distributor launch (Bridgeline)
This comparison is written by the Xearch team and is based on vendors’ public documentation, announcements and independent reviews available at the time of review. Features and pricing change; confirm details with each vendor. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.