Deep search

What does a deep search add?

The default search on most engines is tuned to answer in seconds: it checks the most recent or most relevant part of the index at a conservative threshold. A deep search relaxes one or more of those limits. Depending on the engine that can mean more of the index, more candidate results, a lower similarity score cut-off, or additional crawled sources. It costs more compute, so it is priced separately.

When is it worth it?

• A normal search found little but there is reason to expect more: an old or widely reposted photo.
• A removal job where every copy matters.
• A dating or scam check where the first pass was clean and the stakes are high.

What does it never do?

Reach past the public web. No search tier sees private accounts, messages or content behind a login; a deep search is a wider look at the same kind of pages. It also does not make a look-alike into a match: more candidates mean more of the doppelganger effect, so results still need checking against the source page.

Where does the term come up?

On pricing pages and in support questions. Because each engine defines it differently, comparisons across engines should compare what is actually searched, which the engines index lists field by field.