Overview of autocomplete layout editor
The autocomplete panel helps shoppers discover what they’re looking for before they even finish typing — by showing relevant keyword suggestions, categories, and product matches.
This section controls the structure of the panel:
Which suggestion types appear
How many items are shown
What each section is called
Layout settings (for desktop)
The autocomplete editor inside the configuration menu
💡 Hint: Visual styling (colors, fonts, spacing) is handled in the Shopify Theme Editor. This section focuses on layout and content structure only.
Autocomplete behavior
Force instant suggestions
This setting makes sure the autocomplete panel shows suggestions immediately — without typing — as soon as the search field is focused.
Most Shopify themes do this by default. But if your theme doesn’t trigger autocomplete (for example, after clicking a search icon or drawer), turning this on forces suggestions to appear.
Forcing instant suggestions ensures recommendations show up even without typing
⚠️ Important: If your theme already displays suggestions by default, this setting won’t have any effect — but turning it on won’t cause issues either. It simply acts as a fallback to improve theme compatibility.
Layout options (desktop only)
Choose how the autocomplete panel is structured on desktop:
Two column (default): Displays keyword and category suggestions in the left column, and product matches in the right column.
One column: Displays all suggestions in a single vertical list. Use this if your store has limited space or if you want a simpler look.
One column vs two column autocomplete layout
💡 Hint: The mobile version always uses a one-column layout to ensure readability and performance on smaller screens.
Suggestion types
You can decide which types of suggestions appear — and how many of each.
These options are available for both desktop and mobile.
⚠️ Important: Suggestion count changes won't show live in the preview panel - that skeleton only functions as a placeholder to show how the layout will look like.
Keyword suggestions
Label: Change how the keyword section is titled in the panel (e.g. “Try these” or “Popular searches”).
Number of suggestions: Set how many keyword ideas to show.
Category suggestions
Label: Customize the section name (e.g. “Collections” or “Shop by type”).
Number of suggestions: Set how many categories to show.
Product suggestions
Label: Set the name of this section (e.g. “Top products”).
Number of suggestions: Control how many products appear.
Layout (desktop only): Choose between:
Horizontal: Displays product details in rows.
Grid: Shows a more compact tile layout.
Each suggestion can be turned on or off and the number of displayed suggestions can be customized along with the name
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