A communication-powered searching system provides real-time personalized search assistance to a user by integrating search functionality with real-time communication. Upon submitting a query and receiving search results from the communication-powered searching system, the user may select a communication link included in the search results to activate communication with an entity associated with the communication link. The communication-powered searching system may then refine search results displayed to the user based on information exchanged between the user and the entity. The refinements may be made in real time or substantially in real time.