Natural Language Search lets you find companies using plain English, no complex filter setup required. Just describe what you’re looking for, and Advanced Search (AVS) will return matching results.
What is Natural Language Search?
Instead of choosing filters manually, you can now type your query as a sentence or phrase.
AVS will interpret your request and convert it into structured search criteria.
How to Use It
- Go to Advanced SearchFrom the dashboard, click Search → Advanced Search.
- Type your queryUse the Natural Language input bar at the top.
- Review and refineAVS will translate your query into criteria. You can:
- Edit or remove any criteria
- Add more using the criteria menu
- Explore resultsOnce the filters are applied, your results will appear below – ready to save as a list by adding to a Collection.
Example Searches
Try typing queries like:
- “East Midlands companies in the life sciences industry”
- “Software companies with over 50 employees and 10% turnover growth”
- “Financial services companies that have raised funding in the past year”
You’ll see your phrase parsed into structured filters, with matching results below.
Tips for Better Results
- Be specific where you can (e.g. use “£5m turnover” instead of “big companies”)
- Mention regions, stages of evolution, or employee count if relevant
- Specify the term “signal” when you’d prefer to use the signal criteria
- Use industry terms (e.g. “legal services”, “insurtech”, “pharmaceuticals”) where possible
What Fields are Supported Currently?
You can use Natural Language Search to query based on:
- Industry or buzzword
- e.g. “Fintech companies” or “Life sciences businesses”
- e.g. “Fintech companies” or “Life sciences businesses”
- Location
- e.g. “Companies based in the East Midlands”
- e.g. “Companies based in the East Midlands”
- Financials
- e.g. “Companies with £1m–£5m in annual turnover”
Tip: You can also search over growth e.g. “Companies with 10-20% turnover growth”
- Funding history
- e.g. “Businesses that raised £1m funding in the last 12 months”
- e.g. “Businesses that raised £1m funding in the last 12 months”
- Headcount
- e.g. “Companies with 10 to 50 employees”
- e.g. “Companies with 10 to 50 employees”
- Growth stage
- e.g. “Growth stage companies” or “Established companies in financial services”
- e.g. “Growth stage companies” or “Established companies in financial services”
- Descriptive keywords
- e.g. “Companies that have steel in their description”
We’re continually adding support for more fields: let us know what you’d like to see→
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