diff --git a/api/api/controllers/search_controller.py b/api/api/controllers/search_controller.py
index 1a5a4eb62b4..cf5f76a040a 100644
--- a/api/api/controllers/search_controller.py
+++ b/api/api/controllers/search_controller.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import logging
 import logging as log
+import re
 from math import ceil
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
@@ -58,6 +59,13 @@
 QUERY_SPECIAL_CHARACTER_ERROR = "Unescaped special characters are not allowed."
 DEFAULT_BOOST = 10000
 DEFAULT_SEARCH_FIELDS = ["title", "description", "tags.name"]
+DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS = "AND|NOT|PHRASE|WHITESPACE"
+UNUSED_SQS_FLAGS = [
+    ("PRECEDENCE", r"\(.*\)"),
+    ("ESCAPE", r"\\"),
+    ("FUZZY|SLOP", r"~\d"),
+    ("PREFIX", r"\*"),
+]
 
 
 def _quote_escape(query_string):
@@ -287,8 +295,11 @@ def build_search_query(
     # individual field-level queries specified.
     if "q" in search_params.data:
         query = _quote_escape(search_params.data["q"])
+        log_query_features(query, query_name="q")
+
         base_query_kwargs = {
             "query": query,
+            "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
             "fields": DEFAULT_SEARCH_FIELDS,
             "default_operator": "AND",
         }
@@ -301,6 +312,7 @@ def build_search_query(
         quotes_stripped = query.replace('"', "")
         exact_match_boost = Q(
             "simple_query_string",
+            flags=DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
             fields=["title"],
             query=f"{quotes_stripped}",
             boost=10000,
@@ -313,9 +325,11 @@ def build_search_query(
             ("tags", "tags.name"),
         ]:
             if field_value := search_params.data.get(field):
+                log_query_features(field_value, query_name="field")
                 search_queries["must"].append(
                     Q(
                         "simple_query_string",
+                        flags=DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                         query=_quote_escape(field_value),
                         fields=[field_name],
                     )
@@ -339,6 +353,22 @@ def build_search_query(
     )
 
 
+def log_query_features(query: str, query_name) -> None:
+    query_flags = []
+    for flag, pattern in UNUSED_SQS_FLAGS:
+        if bool(re.search(pattern, query)):
+            query_flags.append(flag)
+    if query_flags:
+        log.info(
+            {
+                "log_message": "Special features present in query",
+                "query_name": query_name,
+                "query": query,
+                "flags": query_flags,
+            }
+        )
+
+
 def build_collection_query(
     search_params: MediaListRequestSerializer,
     collection_params: dict[str, str],
diff --git a/api/test/unit/controllers/test_search_controller_search_query.py b/api/test/unit/controllers/test_search_controller_search_query.py
index c327a8223ed..9b574cd680f 100644
--- a/api/test/unit/controllers/test_search_controller_search_query.py
+++ b/api/test/unit/controllers/test_search_controller_search_query.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 from api.controllers import search_controller
 from api.controllers.search_controller import (
+    DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
     FILTERED_PROVIDERS_CACHE_KEY,
     FILTERED_PROVIDERS_CACHE_VERSION,
 )
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_no_filters(media_type_config):
                     "default_operator": "AND",
                     "fields": ["title", "description", "tags.name"],
                     "query": "cat",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             }
         ],
@@ -80,6 +82,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_no_filters(media_type_config):
                     "boost": 10000,
                     "fields": ["title"],
                     "query": "cat",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             },
             {"rank_feature": {"boost": 10000, "field": "standardized_popularity"}},
@@ -87,7 +90,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_no_filters(media_type_config):
     }
 
 
-def test_create_search_query_q_search_with_quotes_adds_exact_suffix(media_type_config):
+def test_create_search_query_q_search_with_quotes_adds_raw_suffix(media_type_config):
     serializer = media_type_config.search_request_serializer(
         data={"q": '"The cutest cat"'}
     )
@@ -104,6 +107,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_with_quotes_adds_exact_suffix(media_type_c
                     "fields": ["title", "description", "tags.name"],
                     "query": '"The cutest cat"',
                     "quote_field_suffix": ".raw",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             }
         ],
@@ -113,6 +117,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_with_quotes_adds_exact_suffix(media_type_c
                     "boost": 10000,
                     "fields": ["title"],
                     "query": "The cutest cat",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             },
             {"rank_feature": {"boost": 10000, "field": "standardized_popularity"}},
@@ -152,6 +157,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_with_filters(image_media_type_config):
                     "default_operator": "AND",
                     "fields": ["title", "description", "tags.name"],
                     "query": "cat",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             }
         ],
@@ -161,6 +167,7 @@ def test_create_search_query_q_search_with_filters(image_media_type_config):
                     "boost": 10000,
                     "fields": ["title"],
                     "query": "cat",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             },
             {"rank_feature": {"boost": 10000, "field": "standardized_popularity"}},
@@ -188,10 +195,23 @@ def test_create_search_query_non_q_query(image_media_type_config):
                 "simple_query_string": {
                     "fields": ["creator"],
                     "query": "Artist From Openverse",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
+                }
+            },
+            {
+                "simple_query_string": {
+                    "fields": ["title"],
+                    "query": "kitten🐱",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
+                }
+            },
+            {
+                "simple_query_string": {
+                    "fields": ["tags.name"],
+                    "query": "cute",
+                    "flags": DEFAULT_SQS_FLAGS,
                 }
             },
-            {"simple_query_string": {"fields": ["title"], "query": "kitten🐱"}},
-            {"simple_query_string": {"fields": ["tags.name"], "query": "cute"}},
         ],
         "should": [
             {"rank_feature": {"boost": 10000, "field": "standardized_popularity"}},
diff --git a/frontend/src/locales/scripts/en.json5 b/frontend/src/locales/scripts/en.json5
index deaf2a6b816..494d33b9f9c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/locales/scripts/en.json5
+++ b/frontend/src/locales/scripts/en.json5
@@ -177,70 +177,14 @@
       title: "Search for an exact match",
       ariaLabel: "quote unquote Claude Monet",
       claudeMonet: '"Claude Monet"',
-      content: "Put a word or phrase inside quotes. For example, {link}.",
-    },
-    combine: {
-      title: "Combining terms",
-      description: "If you want to combine terms, you can use the following operators to perform more complex queries",
-      and: "{symbol} signifies AND operation",
-      or: "{symbol} signifies OR operation",
-      not: "{symbol} negates a single token",
-      prefix: "{symbol} at the end of a term signifies a prefix query",
-      precedence: "{symbol} signify precedence",
-      fuzziness: "{symbol} after a word signifies edit distance (fuzziness)",
-      ariaLabels: {
-        fuzziness: "tilde N",
-        open: "open parenthesis",
-        close: "close parenthesis",
-        star: "star symbol",
-        not: "minus symbol",
-        and: "plus symbol",
-        or: "vertical bar symbol",
-        prefix: "asterisk symbol",
-        verticalBar: "vertical bar symbol",
-        precedence: "parentheses",
-      },
-    },
-    example: {
-      and: {
-        description: "Example: {link}{br} This will search for images related to both dog and cat.",
-        ariaLabel: "dog plus cat",
-        example: "dog+cat",
-      },
-      or: {
-        description: "Example: {link}{br} This will search for images related to dog or cat, but not necessarily both.",
-        ariaLabel: "dog vertical bar cat",
-        example: "dog|cat",
-      },
-      negate: {
-        description: "You can use the {operator} to exclude a search term from the results.",
-        operatorName: "operator (signifies NOT)",
-        operatorAriaLabel: "minus operator (signifies NOT)",
-        ariaLabel: "dog minus pug",
-        example: "dog -pug",
-        content: "Example: {link}{br} This will search for images related to dog but won't include results related to 'pug'",
-      },
-      prefix: {
-        description: "You can use the {operatorName} to mark a prefix term. This will match anything after the *.",
-        operatorName: "operator (wildcard)",
-        operatorAriaLabel: "star operator (wildcard)",
-        ariaLabel: "net star symbol",
-        example: "net*",
-        content: "Example: {link}{br} This will search for images matching anything with 'net'. This might include 'network', 'Netflix', 'Netherlands', etc.",
-      },
-      precedence: {
-        description: "You can use parentheses {highlight} to specify precedence of terms or combine more complex queries.",
-        ariaLabel: "dogs plus open parenthesis corgis vertical bar labrador close parenthesis",
-        example: "dogs + (corgis | labrador)",
-        content: "Example: {link}{br} This will search for images that match dogs that are either corgis or labrador.",
-      },
-      fuzziness: {
-        description: "You can use {highlight} to specify some fuzzy logic to the term according to the {link} — the number of one character changes that need to be made to one string to make it the same as another string.",
-        linkText: "Levenshtein Edit Distance",
-        ariaLabel: "theatre tilde 1",
-        example: "theatre~1",
-        content: "Example: {link}{br} This will search for images that match strings close to the term 'theatre' with a difference of one character. Results might include terms with different spellings like 'theater'.",
-      },
+      content: "To search for an exact word or phrase, put it inside quotes. For example, {link}.",
+    },
+    negate: {
+      title: "Excluding terms",
+      operatorName: "minus operator",
+      ariaLabel: "dog minus pug",
+      example: "dog -pug",
+      content: 'To exclude a term from your results, put the {operator} in front of it. Example: {link}{br} This will search for media related to "dog" but won\'t include results related to "pug".',
     },
   },
   feedback: {
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/search-help.vue b/frontend/src/pages/search-help.vue
index e013d1ff2ed..8b43607ee31 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/search-help.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/search-help.vue
@@ -15,145 +15,28 @@
       </template>
     </i18n>
 
-    <h2>{{ $t("searchGuide.combine.title") }}</h2>
+    <h2>{{ $t("searchGuide.negate.title") }}</h2>
 
-    <p>{{ $t("searchGuide.combine.description") }}</p>
-    <ul class="not-prose list-inside list-disc marker:text-dark-charcoal-20">
-      <i18n
-        v-for="[name, operator] in Object.entries(operators)"
-        :key="name"
-        :path="`searchGuide.combine.${name}`"
-        tag="li"
-      >
-        <template #symbol>
-          <code
-            :aria-label="
-              $t(`searchGuide.combine.ariaLabels.${name}`).toString()
-            "
-            >{{ operator.symbol }}</code
-          >
-        </template>
-      </i18n>
-    </ul>
-    <!-- eslint-disable @intlify/vue-i18n/no-raw-text -->
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.and.description" tag="p">
-      <template #link>
-        <VLink
-          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.and.ariaLabel').toString()"
-          :href="pathFromQuery('dog+cat')"
-        >
-          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.example.and.example") }}</em>
-        </VLink>
-      </template>
-      <template #br><br /></template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.or.description" tag="p">
-      <template #link>
-        <VLink
-          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.or.ariaLabel')"
-          :href="pathFromQuery('dog|cat')"
-        >
-          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.example.or.example").toString() }}</em>
-        </VLink>
-      </template>
-      <template #br>
-        <br />
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.negate.description" tag="p" class="mt-4">
-      <template #operator>
-        <em
-          :aria-label="
-            $t('searchGuide.example.negate.operatorAriaLabel').toString()
-          "
-          >- {{ $t("searchGuide.example.negate.operatorName").toString() }}</em
+    <i18n path="searchGuide.negate.content" tag="p" class="mb-4">
+      <template #operator
+        ><!-- eslint-disable @intlify/vue-i18n/no-raw-text -->
+        <em :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.negate.operatorAriaLabel').toString()"
+          >- {{ $t("searchGuide.negate.operatorName").toString() }}</em
         >
+        <!-- eslint-enable @intlify/vue-i18n/no-raw-text -->
       </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.negate.content" tag="p" class="mb-4">
       <template #link>
         <VLink
-          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.negate.ariaLabel')"
+          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.negate.ariaLabel')"
           :href="pathFromQuery('dog -pug')"
         >
-          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.example.negate.example") }}</em>
-        </VLink>
-      </template>
-      <template #br>
-        <br />
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.prefix.description" tag="p" class="mt-4">
-      <template #operator>
-        <em :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.prefix.ariaLabel').toString()"
-          >* {{ $t("searchGuide.example.prefix.operatorName").toString() }}</em
-        >
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.prefix.content" tag="p" class="mb-4">
-      <template #link>
-        <VLink
-          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.prefix.ariaLabel')"
-          :href="pathFromQuery('net*')"
-        >
-          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.example.prefix.example") }}</em>
-        </VLink>
-      </template>
-      <template #br>
-        <br />
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.precedence.description" tag="p">
-      <template #highlight>
-        <em>( and )</em>
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.precedence.content" tag="p" class="mb-4">
-      <template #link>
-        <VLink
-          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.precedence.ariaLabel')"
-          :href="pathFromQuery('dog (corgis | labrador)')"
-        >
-          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.example.precedence.example") }}</em>
-        </VLink>
-      </template>
-      <template #br>
-        <br />
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.fuzziness.description" tag="p">
-      <template #highlight>
-        <em aria-label="tilde N">~N</em>
-      </template>
-      <template #link>
-        <VLink href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levenshtein_distance">
-          {{ $t("searchGuide.example.fuzziness.linkText") }}
-        </VLink>
-      </template>
-    </i18n>
-
-    <i18n path="searchGuide.example.fuzziness.content" tag="p">
-      <template #link>
-        <VLink
-          :aria-label="$t('searchGuide.example.fuzziness.ariaLabel')"
-          :href="pathFromQuery('theatre~1')"
-        >
-          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.example.fuzziness.example") }}</em>
+          <em>{{ $t("searchGuide.negate.example") }}</em>
         </VLink>
       </template>
       <template #br>
         <br />
       </template>
     </i18n>
-    <!-- eslint-enable @intlify/vue-i18n/no-raw-text -->
   </VContentPage>
 </template>
 
@@ -167,19 +50,6 @@ import { useI18n } from "~/composables/use-i18n"
 import VLink from "~/components/VLink.vue"
 import VContentPage from "~/components/VContentPage.vue"
 
-const operators = {
-  and: { symbol: "+", query: "dog+cat" },
-  not: { symbol: "-", query: "dog-cat" },
-  or: { symbol: "|", query: "dog|cat" },
-  prefix: { symbol: "*", query: "net*" },
-  precedence: { symbol: "()", query: "dogs+(corgis|labrador)" },
-  fuzziness: {
-    symbol: "~",
-    query: "theatre~1",
-    reference: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levenshtein_distance",
-  },
-}
-
 export default defineComponent({
   name: "VSearchHelpPage",
   components: { VLink, VContentPage },
@@ -200,7 +70,7 @@ export default defineComponent({
         query: { q: queryString },
       })
     }
-    return { pathFromQuery, operators }
+    return { pathFromQuery }
   },
   head: {},
 })
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