Semantic search (Smart & Boolean)

CourtAid's Search feature lets you find relevant judgements and legislation through a summary feed. The default Smart mode uses semantic (meaning-based) search — it understands the intent behind your query, not just the exact words.

Search page with Smart mode selected

Search vs Chat

CourtAid offers two ways to research:

Mode	What it does	Best for
Search	Returns a scrollable feed of matching document summaries	Browsing results, building a reading list, scanning many cases
Chat	Returns a conversational AI answer with cited sources	Getting a direct answer, exploratory questions, synthesis

On the Search page, toggle between Chat and Search at the top of the input area:

• Chat — "Find and chat to sources"

• Search — "Quick search through a summary feed"

You can also reach Search from the sidebar (Search, marked Free) or the Case Search button on the landing page.

Smart search (semantic)

Smart is CourtAid's semantic search mode. Instead of matching exact keywords, it understands meaning and context.

How it works

1. You type a natural language query — e.g. "employer liability for psychiatric injury from workplace bullying"

2. CourtAid searches its database of document summaries using AI embeddings

3. Results are ranked by relevance to your query's meaning, not just word overlap

4. Each result shows a title, date, jurisdiction, and a short summary blurb

When to use Smart

• You know the concept but not the exact legal terms

• You want to discover related cases you might not have thought of

• Your query is a question or description rather than specific keywords

• You're researching a topic area broadly

Example queries for Smart mode

duty of care owed by school to students during excursions
whether silence can amount to misrepresentation in contract
recent developments in unfair dismissal for casual employees

Boolean search (keyword)

Switch to Boolean mode when you need precise keyword control.

Boolean uses traditional text search with operators:

Operator	Meaning	Example
AND	Both terms must appear	negligence AND duty
OR	Either term can appear	contract OR agreement
NOT	Exclude a term	defamation NOT privacy

When to use Boolean

• You're searching for a specific phrase, name, or citation

• You need to include or exclude particular words

• Smart mode returns too many loosely related results

Search page controls

Beyond the query and search mode, the Search page offers additional controls:

Content Type

Quick toggle below the search bar:

• All — judgements and legislation

• Judgements — court decisions only

• Legislation — Acts and regulations only

(US users see Case Law (Opinions) instead of Judgements.)

View

• List — traditional scrollable results feed (default)

• Map — citation map of the top results, showing how cases cite each other. Useful for finding related authorities quickly. See Citation map.

Filters

Use the filter panel at the top to narrow by jurisdiction, court, and categories. See Using filters.

Working with results

Each result in the feed includes:

Action	What it does
Title (click)	Open the document or start a chat focused on it
Summary	View an AI-generated summary of the document
Chat PDF	Have a conversation about this specific document
Save	Save the document to a project
Download	Download the document
Original	Open the original source

Results load automatically as you scroll (infinite scroll). The page shows approximately how many total results match your query.

Search results with summary blurbs

Each result shows a summary blurb, topic tags, and action buttons — see Document summaries for detail.

Smart vs Boolean — quick decision guide

Do you know the exact words that must appear?
├── Yes → Boolean
└── No
    ├── Are you exploring a legal concept or topic?
    │   └── Yes → Smart
    └── Do you need a specific case name or citation?
        └── Boolean (or search by name in Smart)

Tips for better results

1. Be specific about the legal issue — "constructive dismissal due to role change" beats "employment"

2. Combine with filters — narrow jurisdiction and court before searching

3. Try Smart first — switch to Boolean if results are too broad

4. Use Chat for synthesis — if you want an answer rather than a list, switch to Chat mode

5. Save promising results — add key cases to a Project as you go

Sign-in required

Search requires a CourtAid account. If you're not signed in, you'll see a Sign in to search prompt on the Search page. Chat on the landing page may have different access depending on your plan.