A system and method are provided for performing data searches in response to a user request. The system has an application server that is configured to receive user requests, to send search requests based on the user requests, and to communicate with a plurality of search provider systems. The search provider systems each have searchable data and are configured to receive the search requests from the application server and generate search results in response to the search request. A rules manager resides on the application server and is configured to identify a set of search provider systems to send the search request to based on the user request. The method includes the steps of: receiving a user request; determining a set of search providers based on the user request; sending a search request to the set of search providers; receiving search results from at least one of the search providers; merging the search results received from the set of search providers; and sending the merged search results to the user.