Power Apps Search Series – Suggest API for Intelligent Search Assistance

In the previous post we explored the full power of the Search Query API in Dataverse. Now, let’s shift gears to a more UX-focused capability: the Suggest API.

This feature powers intelligent, type-ahead search experiences that offer suggestions before a full search is even submitted ideal for lookup fields, search bars, and filtering experiences in model-driven apps and custom pages.

What Is the Suggest API?

The Suggest API returns a ranked list of search suggestions based on partial user input. Unlike full Search Query requests that return full records, Suggest responses are lightweight and fast.

Key Characteristics:

• Lower latency than a full search
• Supports filtering by entity/table and field
• Uses indexed fields only
• Returns up to 5–10 suggestions
• Includes highlight support for partial matches

Example API Request

POST https://<env>.crm.dynamics.com/api/search/v1.0/suggest
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer eyJ0eXAi...

{
  "searchTerm": "con",
  "entities": [
    {
      "name": "account",
      "suggestFields": ["name"]
    }
  ]
}

This suggests matching account names that begin or contain “con”, like “Contoso”, “Converge Inc.”, etc.

Sample Response

{
  "value": [
    {
      "entityName": "account",
      "entityId": "111-222...",
      "suggestedText": "<em>Con</em>toso Corporation"
    }
  ]
}

Fields Explained

These values can be rendered as dropdowns or inline hints as users type.

Use Case Scenarios

🔧 Developer Tips

• Suggestions only return indexed fields.
• Use suggestFields wisely too many fields can lead to noisy results.
• Apply entity-level filters if necessary using the filter parameter (same syntax as SearchQuery API).
• You can combine suggestedText with entityId to navigate or auto-fill forms.

Suggest vs Query