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

# Overview

Four endpoints that populate the search box before and while a shopper types. Each one answers a different question, and a typical search box uses more than one.

<Note>None of these run a product search. They return terms and categories to show as suggestions. Once the shopper picks one, call [Search Products](/api-reference/discovery/search/post) to fetch the actual results.</Note>

## When to Call Each

**Before the shopper types** — the search box is empty and you want to fill the dropdown:

* [Popular Terms](/api-reference/discovery/popular-terms/get) gives you the catalog's trending searches. They are precomputed, so there is no query to pass — the same ranked list comes back every time.
* [Recent Searches](/api-reference/discovery/recent-searches/get) gives you what this particular shopper searched for before, keyed on `user_id`.

**While the shopper types** — you have a partial query and want to complete it:

* [Auto-Suggestions](/api-reference/discovery/auto-suggestions/get) completes the term itself, and can also return "did you mean" alternatives when the query looks misspelled.
* [Categories](/api-reference/discovery/categories/get) finds matching categories, so you can offer "jump straight to Men's Shoes" alongside the term suggestions.

## Endpoints

| Endpoint                                                          | Route                                    | Returns                                                             | Use it for                                                 |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Auto-Suggestions](/api-reference/discovery/auto-suggestions/get) | `GET /discovery/search/auto-suggestions` | `terms` and `did_you_mean`, both arrays of strings                  | Completing a partial query, with optional spell correction |
| [Categories](/api-reference/discovery/categories/get)             | `GET /discovery/search/categories`       | `categories` with an id, name, and URL for each, plus `total_count` | Linking a query straight to a category page                |
| [Popular Terms](/api-reference/discovery/popular-terms/get)       | `GET /discovery/search/popular-terms`    | An array of terms, most popular first                               | Filling an empty search box                                |
| [Recent Searches](/api-reference/discovery/recent-searches/get)   | `GET /discovery/search/recent-searches`  | An array of the shopper's previous terms                            | Letting a returning shopper repeat a search                |

All four take `catalog_id` and support `limit` and `skip`. Auto-Suggestions and Categories also take `q`, which is required on Categories.