> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.omneo.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Omneo Discovery

> The dedicated search surface that applications query directly for fast profile, product, and reference lookups.

**Omneo Discovery** is the search surface of the Omneo platform. It is a search deployment dedicated to a single tenant, holding one or more **indexes** that are kept in step with Omneo data. Applications query Discovery directly rather than routing search through the Omneo API.

Discovery is deployed per tenant and is not enabled by default. Contact your Omneo account manager to have it provisioned.

## Why Discovery exists

The Omneo API list endpoints are built for precise, filtered retrieval of records you can already describe. Discovery is built for the opposite: a person typing a partial name into a box and expecting ranked matches back in milliseconds.

| Need                                            | Use                                                                |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Free-text search across many attributes at once | Omneo Discovery                                                    |
| Typo tolerance and partial word matching        | Omneo Discovery                                                    |
| Facet counts for building filter UIs            | Omneo Discovery                                                    |
| Exact filtered queries on known attributes      | [API list endpoints](/dev-guides/core-setup/filtering-and-sorting) |
| Reading or writing a specific record            | [API list endpoints](/dev-guides/core-setup/filtering-and-sorting) |

Discovery is read-only. Every write still goes through the Omneo API, and Discovery reflects the result.

## Indexes

An **index** is a named collection of documents that can be searched as a unit, for example `profiles` or `products`. Each index has a primary key, a set of searchable attributes, and a smaller set of attributes that can be filtered and sorted on.

| Index      | Contents                                                                                        |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `profiles` | Profiles, including name, email, phone, identity identifiers, statuses, and preferred location. |
| `products` | Products, including title, handle, brand, tags, variants, and images.                           |
| `schools`  | An optional reference dataset of schools. Enabled on request.                                   |

Additional indexes such as locations and product lists can be configured, and the attributes written into any index can be customised. Both are set up by Omneo during provisioning.

## How indexes stay current

Discovery indexes are seeded with a bulk population when the tenant is provisioned, then kept current from Omneo [events](/concepts/automation/webhooks). Creating, updating, or deleting a Profile, Product, Location, or Product List updates the matching document in the index shortly afterwards.

Discovery is eventually consistent. A record written through the API is immediately readable from the API, and appears in search results a short time later.

## How applications reach it

Applications never hold a long-lived search credential. A trusted backend exchanges its Omneo API token for a short-lived **search token**, and only that token is handed to the browser or mobile app that runs the search.

Because the client queries Discovery directly, search traffic does not pass through the Omneo API, which is what keeps response times low on typeahead interfaces.

## Where Discovery is used

[Clienteling](/concepts/platform-surfaces/clienteling) uses Discovery for staff profile search in store, where a member of staff types a fragment of a name or a phone number and needs the right customer back immediately. [CX Manager](/concepts/platform-surfaces/cx-manager) uses it for profile lookup once enabled on the tenant.

Any first-party or partner application can use it too. A storefront product finder, a store locator, or a school picker in a sign-up form are all Discovery use cases.

## Related

* [Discovery search overview](/dev-guides/discovery/overview)
* [Minting search tokens](/dev-guides/discovery/search-tokens)
* [Running a search](/dev-guides/discovery/searching)
* [Discovery indexes](/dev-guides/discovery/indexes)
* [Schools index](/dev-guides/discovery/schools-index)
* [Filtering, sorting, and search on the API](/dev-guides/core-setup/filtering-and-sorting)