Same engine underneath each one: type a name, address, phone, email — anything identifiable — and get everything in one list: leads, customers, proposals, projects, invoices, each under its own header, tap to open the record. The difference between the three is where the search lives. Typing "mar" in every mock below.
The Gmail approach: the bar is always on screen. On the phone the magnifier sits in the top bar and opens a full-screen search. Impossible to miss — this is what Greg is picturing from DripJobs.
Mobile — magnifier opens full-screen search
Desktop — persistent bar, center of the header
The Linear/Notion approach: a magnifier icon (or ⌘K) opens a floating panel over the page. Desktop stays clean — zero header space used. On the phone it slides up as a bottom sheet, thumb-reachable.
Mobile — bottom sheet slides up over the page
Desktop — floating panel, ⌘K or the magnifier opens it
The sidebar already has a search box — today it only finds menu pages. This teaches it people too: pages and contacts in one list, right where users already type. Mobile gets a search button in the tab bar.
Mobile — Search gets a spot in the tab bar
Desktop — the existing sidebar box now finds people too
They combine well: most CRMs ship 1 + 2 together — the visible header bar for everyone, ⌘K for keyboard people — since both open the same search. Option 3 can be layered on either. Tell Jarvis a number and it gets built.