Introducing Smart Search: MassTrac’s New AI Search Functionality
At InstaTrac, we’ve always believed that finding legislation should be fast, intuitive, and as close to the way you naturally think as possible. Today, we’re excited to announce a major leap forward in how you search Beacon Hill: Smart Search, MassTrac’s new AI-powered legislative search engine.
Smart Search blends traditional keyword matching with advanced semantic search, allowing MassTrac to understand both the words you type and the meaning behind them. Whether you’re searching for a highly specific proposal or only have a vague sense of the concept you’re trying to find, Smart Search gets you there in a single query.
Why Smart Search Changes Everything
Most search tools rely on exact keywords. But legislation rarely uses the same everyday language that advocates, lobbyists, municipal personnel, or analysts use. Smart Search bridges that gap.
Example: Let’s Talk Happy Hour
If you type “happy hour in bars” into MassTrac today, a normal search engine would only return results containing the exact phrase happy hour. But Smart Search goes further.
Using AI trained to understand contextual meaning, Smart Search knows:
“Bars” refers to establishments licensed to sell alcohol
“Happy hour” involves discounted alcohol prices
These concepts appear in legislation even when those terms don’t
Smart Search retrieves the relevant bills anyway, including ones that would otherwise never show up in a keyword-only search.
Smarter Results, Ranked By Relevance
Once Smart Search identifies every bill connected to your query, it automatically ranks them from most relevant to least relevant. No more slogging through dozens of partial matches or running multiple queries just to find the real target.
Searches the General Laws for You
Another thing Smart Search does that no standard keyword search can: it automatically queries the Massachusetts General Laws by title.
That means Smart Search retrieves legislation that references statutory chapters or sections even when your search terms do not appear in the bill text itself. No need to memorize citations or search them separately.
Why SmartSearch Matters
When results appear, SmartSearch tells you exactly what part of the bill your query relates to — title, citation, overview, category, or bill text.
Select “Show More,” and MassTrac highlights the precise section of text where the match occurred. One more click takes you directly to that section of the bill.
SmartSearch is built to support the way legislative professionals actually work — fast, intuitive, and with complete visibility.
Check out this video explaining it all: