Release Updates October 2026

See what’s new with Sarah Phoenix and watch this month’s updates come to life.

This week's release is about getting learners to the learning they need with less effort. Conversational AI search now sits in a search bar, where learners already go when they're looking for something.

Learners don't have to work out what to ask. When they click into the search bar, they see suggested prompts drawn from your catalog, in their own language. They can pick one and go, or type a question the way they would anywhere else. Because it fits how people already look for answers, getting from a question to relevant content takes fewer steps.

Conversational AI Search Bar with Catalog Prompt Suggestions

Learners can now use a floating Conversational AI search bar that suggests prompts based on your catalog when they type or focus the field. Choosing a suggestion or submitting a query opens conversational search, so learners can start from relevant catalog topics instead of a blank box.

In Conversational Search Display settings, admins pick one learner launcher: Search Bar or floating action button (FAB). Learners see only one of those launchers. If your site previously showed a header search bar and the FAB together, it now uses the Search Bar launcher: search moves to the floating bar, and the FAB is no longer shown at the same time.

With Search Bar selected, the widget shows up to three catalog-based suggestions. Suggestions follow the learner's language, including English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and other languages configured for your company

Conversational AI search is behind a feature flag. Reach out to Thought Industries Tech Success & Support for assistance to enable this feature in your instance.

Help & Support Dropdown

The "Help" link in the admin sidebar has been upgraded to a "Help & Support" dropdown menu, providing quick access to the Academy, Help Center, and Community.

External Activity Reliability

Learner completions for third-party External Activities are now verified using vendor-specific API keys to ensure progress is recorded accurately. This update resolves an issue where some returns failed with an error page and extends reliable tracking to learners with role-based access. These improvements apply automatically to all relevant activities.

Accessible Cart Labels

Interactive buttons in the checkout cart now include proper accessible labels to ensure screen readers clearly announce their purpose. These updates improve navigation for learners using assistive technologies by providing descriptive names for all cart actions.

Visible Focus Indicators

We have improved keyboard navigation by adding a visible focus ring to catalog and featured-content cards. This update ensures that learners using a keyboard can clearly see which item is selected, meeting WCAG accessibility standards while maintaining a clean design for mouse users.

Assignment Access

We resolved an issue where assignment submission files, including filenames and download links, were not appearing in the Grading interface. This fix ensures that instructors can once again view and download all learner-submitted attachments as expected.

API Pagination

We fixed a bug where the nonRecurringPurchases API endpoint was stuck on the second page of results. The cursor now correctly advances, allowing integrators to access all transaction records beyond the first two pages.