Techniques and mechanisms are provided that allow participants in an electronic messaging conversation (e.g. email or instant message) to retrieve information related to words and phrases in the electronic messaging conversation without leaving the electronic messaging environment. An electronic messaging environment is provided that includes user interface tools that allow a user to (1) select text within the EM conversation, (2) submit the text to an information retrieval service, such as a search engine, and (3) display the results generated by the information retrieval service. To facilitate the selection of relevant text, certain “suggested words” within the conversation may automatically be highlighted by the instant messaging client. Various techniques are provided for customizing which words are suggested, which sources are searched, and which search terms are used.