# Suggestions

Suggestors are ElasticSearch's way of providing similar looking terms. They fall into two different use cases: "Did you mean...?" or spell check functionality and autocomplete functionality.

You can access the suggestions on the `SearchResult` component using the `getSuggestions` method.

## Did you mean...?

cbElasticSearch can provide a spell-checked or "Did you mean...?" suggestions using either the `suggestTerm` or `suggestPhrase` methods.

* `suggestTerm(string text, string name, string field = arguments.name, struct options = {})` - Adds a term suggestion to the query.
* `suggestPhrase(string text, string name, string field = arguments.name, struct options = {})` - Adds a phrase suggestion to the query.

Term suggestions suggestors on a single word at a time, while phrase suggestors operate on an entire phrase. Any additional options shown on the website can be passed in as the `options` struct.

Term and phrase suggestors are usually added to an existing query. The results will appear in a `suggest` property on the `SearchResult`.

{% hint style="info" %}
More information on how to optimize term and phrase suggestors can be found in the [ElasticSearch documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/search-suggesters.html).
{% endhint %}

## Autocomplete

cbElasticSearch can also provide autocomplete behavior using the `suggestCompletion` method. This adds a `completion` block to the `suggest` query.

* `suggestCompletion(string text, string name, string field = arguments.name, struct options = {})` - Adds a completion suggestion to the query.

Completion suggestors can only operate against a mapping of type `completion`. This can be built either using the struct notation or the `MappingBuilder#completion` method.

Completion suggestors usually operate without a query. It is recommended you also only bring back the `_source` fields that you need. If you do not need any of the `_source` fields, you can `setSource( false )` to not bring back `_source` at all.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://cbelasticsearch.ortusbooks.com/searching/suggestions.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.