If you’re switching to Meltwater from another media intelligence or social listening tool, you might be wondering:

“Can I just copy over my existing searches from a previous platform and paste them into Meltwater Explore?”

The short answer? Sort of...but it’s not a straight copy-paste job and here’s why. 

🔍 Every Platform Has Its Own Search Logic

Explore uses Boolean logic with its own syntax and rules. Other platforms may use different structures or operators which means:

• A search string from another tool might not behave the same way in Explore
• You might get more (or fewer) results than you’re used to
• Important nuances (like source types, filters, or nesting) can get lost in translation

That’s why we always recommend building searches natively in Explore using one of the smart tools below to help.

Option 1: Use the AI Search Assistant

Not sure how to rebuild your searches manually? Let AI do the heavy lifting. 

1. Go to Explore on the left-hand navigation bar and select AI Search Assistant
2. Now, Type something like:
   1. “Create a brand search for eStarbucks] including common misspellings and products” or
   2. “Recreate this search from another tool: ipaste the old search]”

The assistant will draft a Meltwater boolean query that you can tweak directly in the chat by asking to add or remove terms. A live data preview on the right shows mentions and trends in real time.

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​​​​​​See something off? Just tell the assistant how to adjust the search, and your results will update.

✅ Once you're happy with it, click the external link icon to open the Explore results page in a new tab or Save the search directly from the assistant.

Learn more tricks on using the AI Assistant here.

​​​​​​​Option 2: Build Manually with Brand Monitoring Toolkit

If you’d rather build your searches manually using Keyword or Advanced Search, our Brand Monitoring Toolkit walks you through exactly what keyword to include.

This is perfect for users who want more control and visibility over their Boolean structure and filters from the start.

Rookie Tip: Test, Refine, and Save

Once you’ve recreated your search in Explore:

• Run the search and look through the results to ensure relevant mentions
• Use filters like Source type, Language, or Location to refine
• Save it once it’s pulling clean and relevant results

🎓 Want to get smarter with searching?

Take a few minutes to master searching by taking our Certification for Social Listening, and even add it to your LinkedIn profile!