Yext Introduces Extractive QA, Website Crawler, Data Connectors, and Answers Developer Tools, Laying Foundation for Multi-Solution Search Platform

Rhea-AI Summary

Yext, Inc. (NYSE: YEXT) announced its Spring '21 Release, a major update that introduces the 'Orion' search algorithm along with advanced features like Extractive QA, a website crawler, and data connectors. These innovations aim to enhance search experiences by leveraging natural language processing and streamlining data management for businesses. With an emphasis on improving accuracy in delivering answers, Yext's updates cater to both customer-facing and authenticated employee searches, marking a significant step in modernizing their search platform.

Positive

• Launch of 'Orion' search algorithm enhances search capabilities.
• Introduction of Extractive QA for complex question answering using unstructured data.
• Website crawler streamlines data collection for knowledge graphs.
• New developer tools increase customization and ease of integration.
• Enhanced security protocols for authenticated use cases to meet demand.

Negative

• None.

NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yext, Inc. (NYSE: YEXT), the Answers Search Company, today announced its Spring '21 Release, one of the most significant platform updates in the company's history. With the release, highlighted by the "Orion" search algorithm update and a number of critical, innovative features, including extractive QA, a website crawler, data connectors, and developer tools for Answers, the company now allows businesses to deliver even better and more diverse search experiences to their customers.

"Natural language processing has never been more advanced, making exceptional search experiences possible — yet most businesses still use keyword search technology that hasn't changed much since the late '90s," said Marc Ferrentino, Chief Strategy Officer of Yext. "With our new Spring Release features, we're making our search platform better, faster, and ultimately cheaper for those looking to transform their businesses with modern, answers-led search."

The Yext Spring '21 Release includes the following features, which are available for early access:

• Document Search powered by Extractive Question Answering (QA): Unlike traditional keyword search, Yext's platform leverages multiple advanced NLP algorithms to deliver a modern, exceptional search experience drawing from structured and semi-structured data. Its latest addition, extractive QA, adds a powerful dimension to the platform by answering complex questions against unstructured, long-form documents. When someone asks a specific question, whether it's the difference between a 401(k) and a Roth IRA on a bank's website or how to assemble a product on a retailer's site, extractive QA looks at the unstructured data from a business's webpages, blog posts, help articles, and product manuals in their unique knowledge graph (a brain-like database of facts) to find the most relevant word, sentence, or paragraph, and then delivers a direct answer in the form of a rich snippet at the top of the results page.

• Data Connectors, Including Website Crawler: It can be a challenge for brands to centralize the data they need to populate their knowledge graphs — whether it's support articles, product information, professional records, or another source — to answer their customers' complex questions. Yext's new data connectors streamline this process by offering a low-code, point-and-click way to add data sources and transform them into structured facts. This includes a website crawler that can scan a business's website and extract data to be loaded into their knowledge graph.

• Developer Tools: Developers now have everything they need to interact with the Yext platform and build custom solutions on their own. Users can manage their account configuration without logging into the Yext platform using the new Yext Command Line Interface (CLI), and build a completely custom Answers front end with two new Answers SDKs and a direct Answers API.

• Authenticated Use Cases: To meet strong demand for search experiences that live behind a firewall, Yext has introduced new security measures that allow businesses to deploy Answers for authenticated, employee-facing use cases, from company intranet search for employees to support search for agents. Yext's new security page will outline all of the details of the company's related best practices, certifications, and protocols.

Yext's Founder and CEO Howard Lerman and Chief Strategy Officer Marc Ferrentino will be joining members of the company's product and engineering teams in a Clubhouse talk titled "Tech Happy Hour: Join Yext at the [Search] Bar" to discuss the announcement at 9 p.m. (ET) today. Reporters are welcome to join the room as listeners or raise their hand to ask questions.

Visit the Spring '21 Release Notes here for more information and join the Clubhouse talk here at 9 p.m. (ET).

About Yext
The ultimate source for official answers about a business online should be the business itself. However, when consumers ask questions on company websites, too often they are left in the dark with wrong answers. Yext (NYSE: YEXT), the Search Experience Cloud, solves this problem by organizing a business's facts so it can provide official answers to consumer questions — wherever people search. Starting with the company website, then extending across search engines and voice assistants, businesses around the world, like T-Mobile, Jaguar Land Rover, BBVA USA, and Kiehl's — as well as organizations like the U.S. State Department and World Health Organization — trust Yext to radically improve the search experience on their websites and across the entire search ecosystem.

Yext's mission is to help businesses and organizations around the world deliver official answers everywhere people search. Yext has been named a Best Place to Work by Fortune and Great Place to Work®, as well as a Best Workplace for Women. Yext is headquartered in New York City with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Dallas, Geneva, London, Miami, Milan, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, and the Washington, D.C. area.

CONTACT: Amanda Kontor, pr@yext.com

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SOURCE Yext, Inc.

FAQ

What are the key features of Yext's Spring '21 Release?

Yext's Spring '21 Release introduces features like Extractive QA, a website crawler, data connectors, and developer tools to improve search experiences.

How does Yext's Extractive QA improve search functionality?

Extractive QA leverages advanced natural language processing to answer complex questions using unstructured data from various sources.

What is the significance of the 'Orion' algorithm in Yext's update?

'Orion' enhances search performance by enabling more accurate and relevant results for user queries.

When was the Spring '21 Release announced by Yext?

The Spring '21 Release was announced on March 17, 2021.

What security measures were introduced in Yext's Spring '21 Release?

New security measures allow businesses to deploy Answers for authenticated employee use cases, ensuring data protection.