SEARCH SOLUTIONS 2026 20th Anniversary Edition Wednesday 25 November 2026, London Innovations in Search and Information Retrieval Registration bursaries available for Library and Information Science students and professionals – details below. Search Solutions is the BCS Information Retrieval Specialist Group’s annual event focused on practitioner issues in search and information retrieval (IR). We bring together practitioners, researchers, analysts and end users to discuss the latest developments in the IR community and share insights between research and practice. Celebrating 20 years of Search Solutions This special anniversary edition will feature a full day of talks, panels and discussion spanning search, generative AI, large language models, evaluation, user experience and information retrieval in practice. We’ll also be marking the anniversary with a special panel bringing together winners of the Best Presentation Award from recent years. FREE REGISTRATION BURSARIES FOR LIS STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS Systematic Review Consultants LTD is offering bursaries covering the registration fee for either the conference on 25 November or one tutorial on 24 November. Applications are considered on a first come, first served basis. Details and how to apply: https://systematicreview.info/grants/ https://systematicreview.info/grants/ CONFERENCE PROGRAMME 09:30–09:50 Registration and coffee 09:50–10:00 Welcome SESSION 1: AGENTS EVERYWHERE 10:00–10:20 Alessandro Benedetti (Sease): “Open Source Agentic Search: the reality behind the buzzword” 10:20–10:40 Farhad Shokraneh (Systematic Review Consultants): “From Claims to Controls: Evaluating LLMs and Agentic Search for Systematic Reviews” 10:40–10:55 Panel Q&A 10:55–11:15 BREAK SESSION 2: FOCUS ON THE BACKEND 11:15–11:35 Jelena Mitrovic (University of Passau): “Decentralised AI-supported Search and Semantic Web Indexing” 11:35–11:55 Radu Gheorghe (Vespa) & Alessandro Benedetti (Sease): “To Shard or Not to Shard: Scaling Trade-Offs for Retrieval” 11:55–12:15 Mark Stevenson (University of Sheffield): “Needles in Haystacks: Identifying High Value Documents in Large Collections” 12:15–12:30 Panel Q&A 12:30–13:30 LUNCH SESSION 3: FOCUS ON THE SEARCHER 13:30–13:50 Marianne Lykke (Aalborg University): “Workplace user engagement with a semantic AI-based search tool” 13:50–14:10 Orland Hoeber (University of Regina & Dilex Search): “Cross-Session Searching: Offloading Human Memory with Visual Summaries of Search Activities” 14:10–14:25 Panel Q&A 14:25–14:45 BREAK SESSION 4: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SEARCH 14:45–15:05 Martin White (Independent): “British Search Pioneers” 15:05–15:25 Charlie Hull (TheSearchJuggler): “Old Dogs and New Tricks: Using Agents to Improve Search” 15:25–15:45 Adam Roegiest (Zuva): “New Models, Same Old Mousetrap: Why Legal Work Needs Better Processes” 15:45–16:00 Panel Q&A 16:00–16:30 BREAK 16:30–17:15 PANEL SESSION Taketomo Isazawa (Microsoft Research) Charlie Hull (The Search Juggler) Mark Harwood (Independent / Ex-Elastic) Further panellists to be confirmed 17:15–17:25 BCS SEARCH INDUSTRY AWARDS 17:25–17:30 Closing words 17:30 EVENING RECEPTION The BCS IRSG AGM will follow the main event. Attendance is free but must be booked separately. TUTORIAL DAY Search Solutions also includes a separate Tutorial Programme on Tuesday 24 November, with separate registration. Programme and registration: https://www.bcs.org/events-calendar/2026/november/search-solutions-tutorial-... https://www.bcs.org/events-calendar/2026/november/search-solutions-tutorial-day/ LOCATION BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Ground Floor, 25 Copthall Avenue London EC2R 7BP Venue information: https://www.bcs.org/about-us/our-london-office-and-event-venue/ https://www.bcs.org/about-us/our-london-office-and-event-venue/ REGISTRATION Registration fees for the conference, including VAT at 20%: BCS / ISKO members: £92 Non-members: £110 Students: £80 Registration includes lunch, with tea and coffee available throughout the day, followed by a drinks reception in the evening. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/search-solutions-2026-tickets-1979526346590 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/search-solutions-2026-tickets-1979526346590 PAST EVENTS Search Solutions has been bringing the search and information retrieval community together for 20 years. Further details of previous events, including slides and videos, are available from the BCS IRSG website: https://www.bcs.org/membership-and-registrations/member-communities/informat... https://www.bcs.org/membership-and-registrations/member-communities/information-retrieval-specialist-group/