---
title: "Configure entities"
slug: "configure-entities"
abstract: "Describes how to use entities and attributes to represent searchable content in Sitecore Search."
---
# Configure entities

Sitecore Search provides AI-driven, entity-based searches for different types of content.

An entity represents an item type that is searchable. This can be a product, a content item, a category, or something else. Depending on the item type, the entity can have different attributes. If you have two very disparate groups of items that will never be searched together, you can choose to represent them using different entities. For example, *Product* and *Store*.

In Search, *Content* (based on the *Content* [entity template](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/configure-entities/entity-templates.html "Entity templates")) is a preconfigured entity and the [default entity](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/configure-entities/entity-templates.html "Entity templates") in content-focused implementations. It has attributes that are typically required to search content such as articles, blog posts, and so on.

> [!tip]
> You can [add attributes](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/configure-entities/add-an-attribute.html "Add an attribute") to a default entity. However, you cannot modify or delete attributes that are inherited from a template.

This section describes how to work with entities and attributes in your implementation. They are central to creating personalized experiences using filters, facets, and sorting.

When importing searchable items into your implementation, the system creates an [individual index document (indexed item)](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/index-items.html "Index items") for every item indexed. The document's structure conforms to the specifications of the entity associated with the item.

> [!important]
> A Sitecore Search experience makes search and recommendation requests by entity. This means that all results are indexed documents conforming to the same entity type. If you have multiple entities in your implementation, the request must specify which entity to use. Refer to the [Entity templates](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/configure-entities/entity-templates.html "Entity templates") topic for a full list of preconfigured entity templates.

If a default template does not satisfy your requirements, you can add more entity types to your implementation. Search provides a variety of template options that you can use to [create custom entities](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/configure-entities/create-an-entity.html "Create an entity").

Knowing how Search uses attributes can help you decide which metadata to store in an entity. Attributes drive many of the features, for example, fetching results for search and recommendation queries, generating results based on visitor information and behavior, sorting, and filtering.

## Using attributes to display results

In this example, consider the [Sitecore.com](https://www.sitecore.com) content item titled [Premier Assure services: assuring confidence in your investment](https://www.sitecore.com/activities). The following image shows the attribute values for an item displayed in the results for *premier assure services*.

![Link between displayed information and the attributes of a result item in a search results widget.](https://doc.sitecore.com/api/markdown-image/search/en/users/search-user-guide/images/attributes-in-search.png)

The values extracted from this item's attributes include the following:

| Callout | Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A   | Content type | *Knowledge Center* |
| B   | Title | *Premier Assure services: assuring confidence in your investment* |
| C   | Description | *Premier Assure is designed to follow you in your journey with Sitecore and build programs that follow...* |
| D   | URL | *https://www.sitecore.com/activities* |
| E   | Image | *https://wwwsitecorecom.azureedge.net/-/media/sitecoresite/images/home/_/activities/gettyimages-699087272-hero.jpg?md=20220921T172222Z* |

## Using attributes to filter by facets

The following image shows two attributes (**Product** and **Type**) being used as [facets](https://doc.sitecore.com/search/en/users/search-user-guide/refine-search-results.html "Refine search results") on the Sitecore search page. Site visitors can filter search results by selecting one or more values for either of these facets.

![Screenshot of facet options in a search results widget.](https://doc.sitecore.com/api/markdown-image/search/en/users/search-user-guide/images/metadata-filter.png)