Searching in PolicyNote

PolicyNote gives you two ways to search: AI-Assisted and Keyword (Boolean). They work differently, serve different needs, and can be used together. Understanding which to reach for — and when — is the most important thing you can do to get better results.

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Finding a bill you already know

If you know the bill ID, you don't need to run a search at all. Type the state abbreviation and bill number directly into the search bar and results appear as you type. Click the bill to go straight to its page.

• State bills: TX HB 1234, CA AB 99
• Federal bills: US HR 1, US S 5

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AI-Assisted Search

AI-Assisted Search understands meaning, not just words. When you search for "healthcare affordability," it will surface bills about drug costs, insurance premiums, and coverage gaps, even if those exact words don't appear in the bill text. You don't need to anticipate every synonym or phrase a legislator might use.

Use AI-Assisted Search when:

• You're exploring a topic and aren't sure exactly what to look for
• You want to cast a wide, smart net without building a complex query
• You're searching across a broad issue area with many related terms

How to get the best results: Write your search the way you'd explain it to a policy colleague. The more context you give, the better the results.

Instead of: rural physician Texas Try: What are recent policies that would impact a rural Texas physician?

The Assistant will return a set of results along with an overview summary, and you can ask follow-up questions to refine from there.

A note on NOT in AI-Assisted Search: You can exclude terms even in AI-Assisted Search. Just add NOT followed by the term you want to exclude, no prefix needed.

Example: healthcare policy NOT hospitals

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Keyword (Boolean) Search

Keyword search finds exact matches. It's precise and predictable and what you type is what gets searched. That precision is both its strength and its limitation: a well-built Boolean query can be extremely targeted, but a poorly built one will miss things.

PolicyNote automatically recognizes Boolean searches when you use AND, OR, or NOT in all caps. 

Use Keyword Search when:

• You need exact phrase matching like a specific bill number or a defined regulatory term
• You want tight control over what's included and excluded
• You're building a saved alert and need predictable, consistent results over time

The operators:

AND: Both terms must appear. Narrows results. "affordable housing" AND "tax credit"

OR: Either term can appear. Broadens results. "electric vehicle" OR "EV" OR "zero emission vehicle"

NOT: Excludes results containing the term. "water conservation" NOT "drinking water"

" ": Exact phrase match. Only returns results where words appear together in that order. "prescription drug pricing"

( ): Groups terms to control order of operations. Essential in complex queries. energy AND ("tax incentive" OR "tax credit" OR grant)

Tips for building effective Boolean queries:

• Start simple and add operators to narrow down. Don't try to build the perfect query on the first attempt
• Use OR generously with synonyms, since policymakers use varied language for the same concept
• Use parentheses whenever combining OR with AND or NOT. Without them, the logic may not work the way you expect
• When in doubt, add quotes around multi-word phrases

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Which should you use?

	AI-Assisted	Keyword (Boolean)
Finds conceptually related content	✓	✗
Exact phrase matching	✗	✓
Good for exploration	✓	—
Good for precision	—	✓
Works well for saved alerts	✓	✓
Requires managing complex syntax	✗	✓

For most searches, start with AI-Assisted. Use Keyword when you need precision or want to build a tightly scoped alert where you control exactly what comes through.

PolicyNote remembers your last-used search mode, so you'll always return to the one that fits your workflow.

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Note: We are constantly rolling out updates and making improvements in the platform. Please help us keep the Help Center up-to-date by reporting any information that may need some updating at [e-mail].