Index External Content Using Push Sources
In This Article
SitecoreAI search experiences now support push sources, a new source type designed for content that is maintained outside SitecoreAI or cannot be collected through traditional crawling and Content Editor ingestion.
With push sources, external applications can use the Ingestion Service API to send documents directly to SitecoreAI. This provides developers with greater control over which content is indexed and when changes are reflected in search results.
Key Capabilities
Push sources can be used to:
- Index external content from product catalogs, knowledge bases, custom applications, and other systems.
- Synchronize search indexes with data maintained in external platforms.
- Index non-crawlable content that cannot be collected through conventional crawling methods.
- Build API-driven indexing workflows for automated content updates.
- Control when new or updated external content becomes available through SitecoreAI search.
Find Sitecore Search Gaps Before External Content Gets Missed
Why Use Push Sources?
Push sources provide a dedicated mechanism for bringing externally managed content into SitecoreAI search experiences. By combining push sources with the Ingestion Service API, developers can create flexible, automated indexing workflows and keep search results synchronized with external data sources.
This approach is particularly valuable for organizations that need to integrate third-party systems, custom applications, product data, or knowledge repositories into SitecoreAI search without relying on traditional crawling processes.
Read more: Sitecore AI
Frequently Asked Questions
What are SitecoreAI push sources?
Push sources are a SitecoreAI search source type designed for content maintained outside SitecoreAI or content that cannot be collected effectively through traditional crawling or Content Editor ingestion.
How do SitecoreAI push sources work?
External applications send documents to SitecoreAI through the Ingestion Service API, allowing developers to control which content is indexed and when changes become available in search.
What content can be indexed with push sources?
Push sources can index content from product catalogs, knowledge bases, custom applications, third-party systems, internal repositories, and other externally managed data sources.
Can push sources index non-crawlable content?
Yes. Push sources are particularly useful for content that cannot be discovered through conventional web crawling or standard CMS ingestion workflows.
Do push sources use the SitecoreAI Ingestion Service API?
Yes. The Ingestion Service API is used to send, update, and manage external documents within SitecoreAI search indexes.
Can push sources keep external content synchronized with search?
Yes. Developers can build automated workflows that push new, changed, or removed content to SitecoreAI so search results stay aligned with external systems.
How are push sources different from traditional crawling?
Traditional crawling discovers content by visiting accessible pages, while push sources let external applications send documents directly to the search platform through an API.
Why are push sources useful for enterprise search?
They give enterprises more control over indexing timing, support non-crawlable data, enable direct integrations, and help keep search experiences synchronized with frequently changing external content.
What are common use cases for SitecoreAI push sources?
Common use cases include ecommerce product catalogs, knowledge bases, customer portals, internal applications, product information systems, and third-party content repositories.
Can push sources support near-real-time search updates?
Push sources can support faster synchronization because applications can send updates directly when source data changes instead of waiting for a crawl cycle. Actual timing depends on the implementation.
