What are search-only tags?

Search-only tags are tags that help SlideHub find your content but stay hidden from the filter list your end users see. They count toward search results, AI matching, and the presentation builder, but they don't clutter the sidebar with filter options nobody clicks.

Every tag in SlideHub has a Search only switch. When it's off, the tag behaves normally — it shows up as a filter option in the asset library and end users can click it to narrow results. When it's on, the tag still influences what surfaces in search and AI-driven workflows, but it's invisible in the filter panel.

Example: you tag a deck with "EMEA Q3 2025", "Pricing", and "Renewals". "Pricing" is a category your users actively browse by, so it stays visible. "EMEA Q3 2025" and "Renewals" are useful for matching internal searches and AI suggestions but would only add noise to the filter list — so you mark them search-only.

Why use search-only tags?

• Cleaner filter panel for end users. Only the tags people actually browse by appear as filter options. Long-tail or context-specific tags stay in the background.
• Better search and AI matching. Search-only tags are still indexed, so a colleague typing "EMEA" still finds the deck — they just don't see "EMEA Q3 2025" as a filter chip.
• A safe home for AI-suggested tags. New tags generated by SlideHub's AI start as search-only by default, so AI exploration never pollutes the curated filter list. You can review them and promote the good ones to visible tags later.
• No impact on permissions or visibility of the asset itself. A search-only tag is about the tag, not the slide. The slide remains as visible (or restricted) as your category and permission settings make it.

How search-only tags work with AI

When SlideHub's AI auto-tags a slide, every new tag it creates is marked Search only automatically. This is deliberate: AI can suggest dozens of tags per asset, and most of them are useful for matching but would overwhelm the filter list if shown to end users.

You stay in control:

• AI-suggested tags appear in the tag list with a small sparkle icon and a New label until a human confirms them.
• You can promote any AI tag to a visible filter by turning its Search only toggle off — typically once you see it's a tag worth surfacing to end users.
• For bulk cleanup, the Convert AI Generated Tags to search only action (in the tag list's dropdown menu) flips every unconfirmed AI tag for the current asset type to search-only in one go. SlideHub will warn you that Search only tags will not appear as filter options before it runs.

This means you can let AI tag aggressively without worrying about the filter list growing unmanageable.

How search-only tags work without AI

When you create or import tags manually, they default to off for Search only — they're visible filter options from the start. Switch the toggle on whenever a tag is useful for finding content but doesn't belong in the filter panel, for example:

• Internal naming conventions like product codes, project codes, or quarter labels.
• Synonyms and abbreviations ("HR" vs. "Human Resources") where you only want one to show as a filter.
• Tags imported via the bulk upload template that you want to keep for search but not promote as filters yet.

You can flip the toggle for any tag at any time — there's no rebuild step, the change takes effect for new searches immediately.

(Please note that Search only is available for tags only, not for categories or subcategories. Subcategories always behave as visible filters.)

How to see and edit search-only tags

Follow these steps to find the tag list for an asset type and change a tag's visibility.

1. In the left sidebar, open the Manage area and click the asset type you want to edit — for example Slides, Presentations, Documents, Images, or PDFs. The manage page for that asset type opens.
2. Click the Tags tab. You'll see a table of every tag for that asset type with columns for Name, the asset count, Downloads, and Search Only.
3. (Optional) Use the Tag visibility dropdown above the table to narrow the list. The three options are:

• All tags — every tag, visible and search-only.
• Visible tags — only tags that appear as filter options for end users. (default)
• Search only — only tags marked search-only.

4. To flip a single tag, click the toggle in its Search Only column. A tooltip reads Toggle search only when you hover. The change saves immediately.
5. To edit a tag's name, description, or Search only setting together, click Edit on the tag's row. The tag edit page opens with a Search only section near the bottom, accompanied by the help text "Enable this to use the tag for search results only, without showing it as a filter option for end users". Flip the switch and click Save.
6. To bulk-convert every AI-generated tag for this asset type, open the dropdown menu next to the Create button at the top of the tag list and choose Convert AI Generated Tags to search only. Confirm the dialog titled Convert AI generated tags to search only and SlideHub will switch all unconfirmed AI tags for that asset type in one step.

Tip: If you've just enabled AI auto-tagging and want a quick way to keep your filter panel tidy, use Convert AI Generated Tags to search only as a starting point, then review the new tags one by one and promote only the ones you want end users to filter by.

Who can edit search-only tags?

Editing tags — including the Search only toggle — is part of asset management. Anyone with permission to manage assets for the relevant team or company can change a tag's visibility, edit its details, or run the bulk AI conversion.

End users who only browse or download assets cannot see the Tags management page and cannot change the Search only setting. If you don't see the Manage area in your sidebar, or the Tags tab is missing inside it, ask an account Owner to grant you asset management access.

Updated on: 05/20/2026