Federated search with multifeed compositions

Build a federated search experience by combining multiple feeds in a single composition.

Multifeed compositions let you return several independently ranked result feeds from a single API request. They’re the foundation for federated search, displaying results from different product categories, brands, content types, or geographies in a unified result set.

This guide walks through assembling a multifeed composition for a football-themed product listing page (PLP), starting from a single index and then extending to multiple indices and Smart Groups. For the underlying concept, see Multifeed compositions.

Before you begin, review the Composition API requirements.

Use case: “I want to build a PLP that surfaces new arrivals in carousels by product tier: Tier A for top clubs, Tier B for mid-tier, and Tier C for the rest. This replaces static manual processes site-wide.”

This example builds a federated PLP with carousels for brands, latest items, and trending items.

Entry points

This composition supports two entry points: a search query for football on the browse PLP, and the category page route /football.

Category page

{
  "params": {
    "query": "",
    "filters": "categoryPageId:football"
  }
}

Browse query

{
  "params": {
    "query": "football"
  }
}

Configure with the API

Create the composition with the Update and insert composition endpoint, then apply the behavior defined below. To scope the behavior to a specific search query, category, or context, send the same behavior inside a composition rule’s consequence.behavior with the Update and insert composition rule endpoint.

Single index

1. Add the brand feed

   JSON

   {
     "behavior": {
       "multifeed": {
         "feeds": {
           "football-brands": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }
   
2. Add the trending feed

   JSON

   {
     "behavior": {
       "multifeed": {
         "feeds": {
           "football-brands": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           },
           "football-trending": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "recommend": {
                     "indexName": "products",
                     "model": "trending-items",
                     "threshold": 3,
                     "queryParameters": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         },
         "feedsOrder": [
           "football-brands",
           "football-trending"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   
3. Add the latest-in-football feed

   JSON

   {
     "behavior": {
       "multifeed": {
         "feeds": {
           "football-brands": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           },
           "football-latest": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football AND new:true"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           },
           "football-trending": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "recommend": {
                     "indexName": "products",
                     "model": "trending-items",
                     "threshold": 3,
                     "queryParameters": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         },
         "feedsOrder": [
           "football-brands",
           "football-latest",
           "football-trending"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

Multiple indices

1. Add the brand feed on the products index

   JSON

   {
     "behavior": {
       "multifeed": {
         "feeds": {
           "football-brands": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "product-brands",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }
   
2. Add the popular feed from the UK product index

   JSON

   {
     "behavior": {
       "multifeed": {
         "feeds": {
           "football-brands": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "product-brands",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           },
           "football-popular-uk": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "uk-products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         },
         "feedsOrder": [
           "football-brands",
           "football-popular-uk"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   
3. Add the popular feed from the French product index

   JSON

   {
     "behavior": {
       "multifeed": {
         "feeds": {
           "football-brands": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "product-brands",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           },
           "football-popular-uk": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "uk-products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           },
           "football-popular-fr": {
             "injection": {
               "main": {
                 "source": {
                   "search": {
                     "index": "fr-products",
                     "params": {
                       "filters": "category:football"
                     }
                   }
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         },
         "feedsOrder": [
           "football-brands",
           "football-popular-uk",
           "football-popular-fr"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

Enhance your feeds

Add a feed for trending items

Add a Recommend to power a trending-items carousel. This example pulls trending items from the uk-products index, filtered to the football category.

JSON

{
  "behavior": {
    "multifeed": {
      "feeds": {
        "football-brands": {
          "injection": {
            "main": {
              "source": {
                "search": {
                  "index": "product-brands",
                  "params": {
                    "filters": "category:football"
                  }
                }
              }
            }
          }
        },
        "football-trending-uk": {
          "injection": {
            "main": {
              "source": {
                "recommend": {
                  "indexName": "uk-products",
                  "model": "trending-items",
                  "threshold": 3,
                  "queryParameters": {
                    "filters": "category:football"
                  }
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "feedsOrder": [
        "football-brands",
        "football-trending-uk"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Inject an external source Smart Group

Inject an external source Smart Group into one of your feeds to surface sponsored items selected at query time by your retail-media platform or bidding system. The object IDs are passed in the request body when querying the composition (see External source groups).

JSON

{
  "behavior": {
    "multifeed": {
      "feeds": {
        "football-brands": {
          "injection": {
            "main": {
              "source": {
                "search": {
                  "index": "product-brands",
                  "params": {
                    "filters": "category:football"
                  }
                }
              }
            },
            "injectedItems": [
              {
                "key": "sponsored-football",
                "source": {
                  "external": {
                    "index": "products",
                    "ordering": "userDefined"
                  }
                },
                "position": 0,
                "length": 3
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      "feedsOrder": [
        "football-brands"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Hide feeds

You can hide or reorder feeds with the feedsOrder field. Set it on the composition itself, on a composition rule, or pass it at query time. Omitting a feed from feedsOrder hides it for that scope. Reordering changes the order of feeds in the response.

In the composition

Update feedsOrder on the composition to change the default order or hide a feed across all queries (here, football-popular-uk is omitted to hide it).

JSON

{
  "behavior": {
    "multifeed": {
      "feedsOrder": [
        "football-brands",
        "football-trending"
      ]
    }
  }
}

In a composition rule

Set feedsOrder inside the rule’s consequence.behavior.multifeed so it applies only when the rule’s conditions match.

JSON

{
  "consequence": {
    "behavior": {
      "multifeed": {
        "feedsOrder": [
          "football-brands",
          "football-trending"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

At query time

Pass feedsOrder in the search request body to override the composition’s default for that query only.

JSON

{
  "params": {
    "query": "football"
  },
  "feedsOrder": [
    "football-brands",
    "football-trending"
  ]
}

See also

• Multifeed compositions
• Smart Groups
• External source groups
• Recommend-based groups
• Composition REST API reference