Shopify predictive search not working.

Several search surfaces can look like “search is broken.” They do not share a settings panel. This page is only when the header predictive search / autocomplete dropdown is empty, never mounts, or throws while typing (Search & Discovery query suggestions, theme predictive-search section, JS errors, suggest API / predictive_search responses). Collection faceted filters / filter sidebar is shopify-collection-filters-not-working. Collection sort by price / best selling / newest stuck is shopify-collection-sort-not-working. Recently viewed blank is shopify-recently-viewed-not-showing. Full /search results page empty or wrong synonyms is storefront-search-not-returning— use that when Enter / Search icon lands on /search with no rows, not when only the dropdown is dead.

Open the live storefront header search with a known published product title — not only Theme editor preview. Capture four proofs before you install another search app:

1. Apps → Search & Discovery: predictive search / query suggestions enabled; searchable product fields include title / SKU / tags as needed; query redirects not swallowing the test query.
2. Customize Current → header / search: is Predictive search / Search drawer / predictive-search section present and enabled on the published theme (not only a draft)?
3. DevTools Console: typing in the search box — any red errors from theme.js, predictive-search.js, app embeds, or consent scripts that abort the dropdown?
4. DevTools Network: does a predictive_search / suggest / Section Rendering request fire and return product / query-suggestion rows, or does the UI stay empty while the response is empty / 4xx / blocked?

If you only tested the collection filter sidebar, collection Sort by, recently viewed, or the full /search results page after Enter, you are on the wrong playbook.

Online Store 2.0 themes gate the autocomplete behind a header Search / Predictive search section (or a search drawer block). After a developer paste or section-group edit, that section can vanish from Current while the search icon still opens an empty panel. Separately, Search & Discovery can disable query suggestions, limit searchable fields so title matches never appear, or pin query redirects that send every keystroke elsewhere.

Fix path: Customize Current → header → enable Predictive search / Search → Save / Publish Current. Confirm Search & Discovery exposes query suggestions and the product fields you expect. Theme editor publish failures are theme-editor-publish-failing. Empty Search & Discovery Filters (collection facets, not suggest) are search-and-discovery-filters-empty.

Native predictive search depends on theme JS listening to the search input and fetching suggest results. A broken import, CSP / third-party script error, or an app that overrides fetch can leave the input alive while the dropdown never paints. Separately, the suggest endpoint can return zero rows when the product is draft / unlisted / unavailable, Markets hide the catalog, or searchable fields exclude the string you typed.

Fix path: fix or remove the Console error that fires on first keystroke; confirm Network suggest returns rows for a known published Active product title on the buyer’s market; hard-refresh without extensions. If Enter lands on /search with results but the dropdown stays empty, stay on this page (theme / predictive-search JS). If both surfaces are empty, also walk storefront-search-not-returning.

Third-party search / Instant Search / AI search apps (App embed + theme app block) can replace or freeze native predictive search: embed off on Current, enabled only on a draft, scoped to Markets the buyer is not in, or set to own the header while the theme still renders a dead native input. Custom CSS, sticky headers, or cookie / consent banners can set the dropdown to pointer-events:none / opacity:0 / z-index under the banner — suggest “exists” in the DOM but buyers never see rows.

Fix path: Theme settings → App embeds → enable one search app on Current (or disable the app and use native predictive search only) → Save. Temporarily disable the second search app. Inspect the live header for CSS / consent hides. Generic App embeds failing across many apps is app-embed-not-loading. Consent banners blocking storefront clicks are cookie-banner-blocking-checkout.

Collection faceted filters / filter sidebar broken or empty is shopify-collection-filters-not-working. Collection sort by stuck is shopify-collection-sort-not-working. Recently viewed blank is shopify-recently-viewed-not-showing. Full /search results empty or wrong is storefront-search-not-returning. Do not chase collection metafield filter sources when the header autocomplete is the broken control.

The only honest test for this page: on a live storefront, typing a known published product title in the header search either shows no dropdown rows, the predictive-search UI is missing, or Console / Network shows errors / empty suggest — fixable with theme predictive-search on Current, Search & Discovery query suggestions / fields aligned, JS errors cleared, suggest API returning rows, and one search path (native or one app) without CSS / consent freeze — not the filter sidebar alone, not Sort by alone, not recently viewed alone, not /search after Enter alone. Capture S&D + theme + JS + Network, fix the path. Anything else is a different product.

Stay DIY if the theme predictive-search section is on Current, Search & Discovery query suggestions / searchable fields include what buyers type, Console is clean on keystroke, and Network suggest returns product rows on the live storefront. That is ordinary Shopify admin + theme work.

Pay $997 when the gap is wiring: lead capture, ops alerts, and a checkout-ready workflow on the stack you already pay for, installed in 72 hours after collaborator access lands. Latch does not sell an earnings, conversion, or search-click lift number. Latch does not rebuild your theme’s search UI as a design agency. One live store. Clock starts when collaborator access is in.

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