Search Highlights are turned on automatically for the supported objects, so there is nothing to enable. The configuration work is upstream: making sure the right fields are searchable and the right object types are searched.
- Confirm the object type is eligible
Search Highlights apply to Cases, Knowledge articles, Files, Feed Items, Tasks, and custom objects with rich-text or long-text content. Confirm your object is in the list before tuning fields; standard objects like Account do not produce highlights regardless of field setup.
- Check field searchability on the object
For each text field that should contribute to highlights, open the field definition and verify the Searchable checkbox is on. Long Text Area and Rich Text Area fields default to searchable; review them after creation if you want to make sure.
- Use a global search query to verify
Search for a known phrase in the field content from the global search bar. The record should appear with a snippet under it, with the matched phrase bolded. Try variants and partial matches to confirm the field is participating in the search.
- Wait for the search index after edits
After editing rich-text content, wait at least a minute and rerun the search before assuming the field is not searchable. The search index is rebuilt asynchronously; very large orgs may take a few minutes for new content to appear.
- Review the Search Layout for column context
The Search Layout decides which fields appear as columns in the search results table next to the snippet. Adjust it for context fields like Status or Owner so the user can decide whether to click without opening the record.
Per-field setting that decides whether a custom field is indexed for SOSL queries and eligible to produce highlights.
Per-object admin setting that decides which fields appear as columns in search results next to the highlight snippet.
Standard and custom objects are included automatically when at least one searchable field exists; there is no per-object toggle to exclude an object from search entirely.
- Search Highlights do not appear in lookup dropdowns or list views. They only appear on the global search results page and the Lightning Console search. If a user expects a snippet in a lookup, no configuration will produce one.
- Edits to rich-text fields do not produce highlights immediately. The platform search index is rebuilt asynchronously and may take seconds to minutes to reflect the new content in a snippet.
- Plain Text fields do not produce snippets even when matched. Only Long Text Area, Rich Text Area, and certain platform fields like Knowledge article body produce snippet text.