Case Search lets you find specific cases by keyword, case ID, or customer profile directly from the Cases tab — without switching to the Smart Inbox or scrolling through filtered lists.

Availability: All plans | Web only (not available on mobile or Salesforce)

Permission required: Manage Cases

Getting started

Navigate to the Cases section from the primary navigation.
Locate the search bar in the top-right corner of the page.
Start typing to search across case message content, case IDs, and user profiles.

Tip: Click "View search help" inside the search bar to see the full list of supported operators and examples directly in the product.

Search operators reference

You can search with just plain keywords, or use operators to narrow your results precisely:

Operator	What it does	Example	What it finds
(multiple words)	Implicit AND — both words must appear	`Chicago pizza`	Cases containing both "Chicago" and "pizza" (not necessarily together)
`" "`	Exact phrase	`"account locked"`	Cases containing the exact phrase "account locked"
`case_id:`	Find by case ID	`case_id:271048`	The specific case CASE-271048
`from:`	From a specific user/profile	`from:Justyn`	Cases from a user or profile name containing "Justyn"
`from:( )`	From a multi-word name	`from:(Peter Piper)`	Cases from a user/profile containing both "Peter" and "Piper"
`contains:`	Message content (separate from `from:`)	`from:(Peter Piper) contains:pickle`	Cases from "Peter Piper" where the message contains "pickle"
`OR`	Either term	`hotels OR motels`	Cases containing "hotels" or "motels" (or both)
`NOT`	Exclude a term	`"Mexican food" NOT tacos`	Cases with "Mexican food" but NOT "tacos"
`NOT ( )`	Exclude a group	`authentic food NOT (Italian OR Mexican)`	Contains "authentic" and "food" but not "Italian" or "Mexican"
`NOT " "`	Exclude an exact phrase	`Social NOT "social media"`	Contains "social" but not the phrase "social media"
`( OR )`	Grouped OR with required term	`(pepperoni OR mushroom) pizza`	Contains "pizza" AND either "pepperoni" or "mushroom"
`( ) OR`	Complex group alternatives	`(taste good) OR delicious`	Contains both "taste" and "good," OR contains "delicious"

Operator tips

Operators are case-sensitive: OR and NOT must be uppercase. Lowercase or and not are treated as regular search words.
Combine operators freely: from:Sarah contains:"billing issue" NOT refund finds cases from Sarah about billing issues that don't mention refunds.
Parentheses group logic: Use ( ) to create complex queries when simple AND/OR isn't enough.
You can type operators directly or select them from the dropdown that appears when you click the search bar.

What gets searched

When you type keywords (without an operator), the search looks across:

Searched	Example
Message text within the case	Customer's original message and any replies
Case IDs	Typing "271048" finds CASE-271048
User/profile names	Typing a customer's name finds their cases

Not searched by keywords:

Tags (use the Tag filter instead)
Internal Comments
Case status or priority (use filters)
Agent/assignee names (use the Assignee filter)

Managing filters and search together

Your Cases tab likely has filters active (status, queue, assignee, source, message type, etc.). Search interacts with those filters in two ways:

Search within current filters (default)

By default, your search results are scoped to your active filters. If you're viewing "My Cases → Open" and search for "billing," you'll only see YOUR open cases containing "billing."

Search all cases

To search across ALL cases regardless of your current filters, click the "Search all cases instead?" link that appears at the top of the case list after you submit a search.

To return to your filtered view, click "Search within current filters instead."

When to use each:
Search within filters → When you know the case is in your current view and want to narrow further
Search all cases → When you're looking for a case that might be in another queue, assigned to someone else, or in a different status

Search across different Case views

Case Search works within whichever view you're currently on:

My Cases — Searches only cases assigned to you
My Team Queues — Searches cases in your team's queues
All Cases — Searches all cases you have permission to view
Assigned by Me — Searches cases you've assigned to others
Custom Views — Searches within your custom view's filter criteria

Use the "Search all cases instead?" toggle to temporarily override the view's built-in filters.

Clearing your search

To reset and return to your normal case list:

Click the x on the right side of the search bar, OR
Click the Reset button next to your filter list (this clears both search and filters)

Profile permissions and search visibility

Important: You can only see cases in search results if you have profile permissions for the source profile associated with the case.

For example:

If a case was created from a Facebook message on "Acme Brand US" and you don't have access to that profile, that case won't appear in your search results — even if your keyword matches.
This applies regardless of whether you search within filters or search all cases.

If you're getting fewer results than expected, check with your admin whether you have access to all relevant profiles under Account & Settings > Roles & Team Members.

Common questions

Can I search by case assignee?
Not via the search bar — use the Assignee filter at the top of the Cases list instead. You can combine the Assignee filter with a keyword search to find specific content within someone's cases.

Can I search for internal comments?
No. Case Search looks at message content and case metadata (ID, profile name). Internal comments are not included in the search index.

Why did my search return zero results?
Common causes:

Profile permissions — You don't have access to the profiles associated with matching cases
Active filters — Your current view filters are excluding the case. Try "Search all cases instead?"
Typo in operator syntax — Check that OR/NOT are uppercase and parentheses are balanced
Searching the wrong field — Tags, assignees, and statuses aren't keyword-searchable. Use the dedicated filters for those.

Is Case Search available on mobile?
No. Case Search is web-only. On mobile, use the Smart Inbox's search functionality to locate messages associated with cases.

Can I save a search query?
Not directly — but you can create a Custom Case View with specific filters that approximate your frequent searches. Custom Views persist across sessions.

Does search find cases across all Groups?
Search operates within your current Group context. If you manage multiple Groups, switch to the relevant Group first.