AI-powered search for MediaWiki wikis
Universities, OSS projects, and internal knowledge bases deserve better than brittle LIKE queries. Route Special:Search through Seekmodo with CirrusSearch fallback — Enhanced Native on install, cloud AI when you pair.
- Special:Search and typeahead route through Seekmodo when paired and active.
- Native MediaWiki search and CirrusSearch remain the degradation floor — readers never see a blank results page.
- JobQueue-driven incremental indexing keeps new revisions searchable without blocking editors.
Technical setup
This page covers the product and SEO story. First-party install guides and custom-connector API docs (for platforms we do not ship) live in the developer docs.
Why wiki search breaks down
Default MediaWiki search struggles with typos, multi-word intent, and ranking signals that matter to readers — recency, namespace weighting, and redirect coverage. CirrusSearch helps at scale, but operating Elasticsearch clusters for every wiki farm is operational overhead most teams would rather avoid.
Seekmodo routes Special:Search through a hosted knowledge vertical with the same merchandising and analytics stack commerce tenants use — while keeping native and CirrusSearch paths as the always-on fallback when the gateway is unreachable.
Special:Search integration and fallback
- Special:Search and typeahead route through Seekmodo when paired and active.
- Native MediaWiki search and CirrusSearch remain the degradation floor — readers never see a blank results page.
- JobQueue-driven incremental indexing keeps new revisions searchable without blocking editors.
- Click telemetry feeds learning-to-rank when you subscribe — training runs on Seekmodo servers, not your wiki workers.
MCP for research assistants and internal copilots
Every paid plan exposes a per-tenant MCP server so Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, and custom internal copilots can query your live wiki with the same ranking rules as Special:Search. Institutional teams use this for support deflection, onboarding assistants, and research workflows — see /solutions/mcp-catalog-search for the architecture.
Install on MediaWiki 1.39+
Download the signed extension from /plugins/mediawiki, enable it in LocalSettings.php, run the schema update, and seed the index with the bundled maintenance script. Pair from Special:Seekmodo as a sysop when you are ready for cloud AI search and analytics.
- Targets MediaWiki 1.39 and newer — see /docs/mediawiki/install for your exact version notes.
- Enhanced Native improves local retrieval before you pair a tenant.
- Federated wiki farms: contact us for multi-wiki provisioning guidance.
Institutional pricing fit
Public wikis with moderate traffic often land on Growth ($299/mo). Smaller internal wikis may fit Starter ($99/mo). Use the dashboard search counter during your 14-day trial to pick the tier that matches real reader queries — or run the pricing calculator for a side-by-side vendor quote.
Vendor vacuum positioning
Shopify-only search apps and per-keystroke SaaS vendors do not ship maintained MediaWiki connectors. Seekmodo is built for the open web — Zen Cart, WordPress, BigCommerce, and MediaWiki on the same gateway stack with a public MCP endpoint on every plan.
Frequently asked questions
Can Seekmodo coexist with CirrusSearch?
Yes. The extension routes active search through Seekmodo when paired; CirrusSearch and native search remain the fallback path if the gateway is unreachable.
Does this work with Semantic MediaWiki?
The connector indexes standard article content via JobQueue. Semantic properties follow the same pipeline where configured — check /plugins/mediawiki release notes for SMW compatibility statements.
How do multi-wiki farms pair?
Each wiki pairs to one Seekmodo tenant today. Federated farms should contact us for provisioning guidance before rollout.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — 14 days with full Growth-tier features and uncapped search volume during the trial. Enhanced Native works on install without an account.
How does this compare to DIY Algolia?
Algolia sells an API you wire yourself; Seekmodo ships a maintained extension, hosted gateway, billing, and MCP. See /compare/algolia for an honest side-by-side.
Upgrade MediaWiki search
Install Enhanced Native free, then start a 14-day cloud trial when you are ready.